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Jacksonville bus driver wants more safety training to help keep your kids safe

In one week, parents in Jacksonville will be welcoming their kids home from the first day of school.

As the largest school district in our area prepares, one bus driver is talking to us about safety concerns.

Action News Jax reporter Courtney Cole spoke to a bus driver who said she believes bus drivers need to get training to deal with dangerous situations on the school bus.

After watching the story on Action News Jax on Friday about the active shooter exercise at First Coast High School, she thinks school bus drivers need to have a similar type of training.

"What about us? We’re out there. We’re the first one your child sees in the morning before they go to school," she said.

The bus driver of 31 years asked to remain anonymous out of fear she would be fired by the local bus company she works for.

She said if there is a threat, they're told to call the school bus office. Then the office contacts police.

"Nine times out of 10, it’ll take 45 minutes for someone to get to us. That’s just way too long. "

Three bus companies are responsible for getting 48,000 of Duval County’s more than 120,000 public school students to and from school safely.

Cole called and e-mailed each company to find out what type of safety training they provide for their school bus drivers.

The spokesperson for Student Transportation of America didn’t mention additional safety training when Cole asked about what type of training school bus drivers receive prior to the first day of school.

The STA spokesperson sent a statement, saying in part:

"The safety of students, drivers and the community is Student Transportation of America’s (STA) first and most important priority. For current drivers, training consists of annual recertification including behind-the-wheel training. New drivers must meet all STA and district certification requirements, including industry-leading New Driver Training classes and behind-the-wheel training, and pass a road test administered by our state certified trainers. Our Safety staff also holds monthly safety meetings for all drivers and performs ongoing audits of video footage to ensure that we continue to exceed district standards for student safety."

When Cole asked what school bus drivers are instructed to do if a student brings a weapon on the bus, or if one of the drivers gets into a situation where their safety is threatened, STA’s spokesperson responded:

"If our drivers see a weapon or suspect a student has a weapon, they are instructed to stay calm and notify our STA office immediately or as soon as it is safe to do so. Our office then confirms the driver’s location, calls the police and notifies the school officials.  Drivers are instructed to never approach a student on their own."

Durham School Services said they have training that prepares their drivers to drive into an active shooter situation to safely retrieve students.

Durhan School Services also provided Action News Jax with this statement:

"Managing an active shooter situation is part of the extensive training on all safety topics that we provide throughout the year. Safety is our top priority, and that includes the safety of both our students and our drivers. As part of our August 2 school kick-off meeting, we conducted a session on active shooter training. In addition, TSA training is conducted for new drivers."

Action News Jax is still working to get in contact with First Student transportation company to learn more about the training of their school bus drivers.