Students not wearing a student ID could have their pass taken away by the district, according to the board’s resolution.
The agreement is to make sure the district is being a “good neighbor” to the rest of the community, Lawrence said.
“We want to make sure that we know that our kids are safe,” he said, adding he wanted the community to know how students are being kept safe.
DPS won’t be purchasing more bus passes immediately. Schools are currently distributing the roughly 3,500 bus passes that were left over from last school year, which business manager Marvin Jones said he expects to last about two months.
The district has sued the state to stop enforcement of the new state law restricting DPS students from using district-purchased RTA passes from transferring at the RTA transfer station. It’s unclear when litigation will end. A temporary restraining order has allowed DPS to give bus passes to students.
Jones said he believes the passes will last that long because of the many community organizations that stepped up to provide bus passes for students and the many parents who have chosen to drive their students to school instead of sending them on the bus this year so far.
The board of education voted earlier this year not to purchase bus passes after the state of Ohio banned students from transferring through the downtown bus hub using a DPS-issued bus pass. The downtown bus hub is a common place for students to transfer RTA buses.
DPS does not bus high school students, with DPS officials saying the number of private and charter school students they are required to bus by state law in grades kindergarten through eighth limits their ability to transport high school students.
Under state law, public schools have to offer the same transportation to any student living in their borders, whether they attend DPS or not, with some limitations.
The board of education split the vote, with four members voting for the plan and three against. One board member against the plan voiced concerns about students who didn’t have student IDs and students who were using bus passes purchased by other people, such as family members or community members.
The member, Will Smith, said he also felt the measures proposed by the district don’t keep kids safe. He argued that the badges may make RTA bus drivers better able to identify DPS kids. RTA drivers have driven past stops with a bunch of students at the stop, Smith said.
“There’s nothing in this resolution that does anything to make one child on the bus any safer,” Smith said. “But there are things in it that could make a child get left out.”
RTA CEO Bob Ruzinsky said the accusation that drivers would purposely skip stops is “truly unfair.”
“If DPS Board members have such concerns, they should concentrate their efforts on hiring drivers and providing direct transportation to their students,” Ruzinsky said. “DPS students would be best served by district-provided direct transportation from home to school, and then back again.”
Ruzinsky said the RTA does anticipate fuller buses before and after school, but said RTA drivers are trained to handle full buses.
Board member Joe Lacey asked if the RTA had collaborated on the document. Lawrence replied that they had not.
Member Eric Walker said he shared Smith’s concerns that the RTA could use this policy to retaliate against DPS students.
“I think where I struggle with this is what’s been said before by the CEO of RTA, or bus drivers, is that RTA does not want our kids on their buses,“ Walker said. ”So if we’re going to enforce their policy or whatever, who’s to say that they’re just not going to kick one of our kids off?"
Lawrence replied, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
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