'Made me very concerned': Dispute over bus safety rules in Bastrop ISD

BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) --- During a meeting before the school year began, Bastrop Independent School District bus drivers said they were told by their transportation company to no longer help students in case of a medical emergency.

"She said that we weren't allowed to do CPR. We weren't allowed to administer medications," said one Bastrop ISD bus driver, who didn't want to share their identity.

The company, GoldStar, claims it was a misunderstanding. However, the bus driver KXAN spoke with said that wasn't the case.

'Very concerned'

The whole situation left at least one mother, Dana Seay, panicking about her daughter, Cara's, safety.

Seay said her daughter's favorite part of the day is getting on the bus. Cara attends Bastrop Works, a Bastrop ISD 18-years-old and up program.

In the eight years that she's been at the district, Seay said she's always felt comfortable sending Cara on the bus.

"Cara has a very rare seizure disorder," Seay said. "We've been really secure with the drivers, the monitors, everything that has always been on the bus, because they've always been trained with Cara's rescue medicines."

However, her sense of security quickly turned to worry this week. Seay said several bus drivers told her rules changed and they could no longer help in a medical emergency.

"There was a big meeting, and they were told they were no longer to even touch the children," Seay said. "If there was an emergency, they were to pull over to the next safest spot and stop and then call their bus barn, their people, and then from there, the bus barn will call 911, and then they will call the parents."

Seay said in an emergency situation, Cara needs her medicine almost immediately.

Bastrop ISD and GoldStar's response

We reached out to Bastrop ISD about Seay's concerns.

The district told KXAN that it can "confirm that GoldStar has not made any changes or updates to their guidelines, and their drivers and monitors are still able to assist with administering certain medications when approved as part of a student's transportation medical action plan."

GoldStar responded saying that it conducts various refresher training sessions with drivers and monitors before the start of the school year. It said one of the topics was special needs transportation and addressing student needs while on the bus.

"Our team had offered general safety guidance regarding not having physical contact with students and not administering medications – however there are exceptions and special circumstances which would dictate different outcomes, especially when applying aid. We are working to correct this misunderstanding regarding guidelines, and we are holding re-training sessions to ensure our entire special needs staff understands proper protocols for these special situations."

GoldStar

Seay said she's relieved there will be a re-training, but she remains weary. Ultimately, she wants peace of mind that her daughter and other students will be taken care of in an emergency.