UPDATE - school buses

I don't know, because around here there would never been that age range on the same bus. Personally I wouldn't want my 1st grader on a bus with 8th graders!

Although I do know that our high school buses are often in chaos for the first week or so. I can't speak to middle or elementary schools because my kids always walked.

It's the first day for the driver too. She/he needs to get used to faces and who and where they get picked up/dropped off as well.

Our busses use a colored dot system. The kids have a tag hanging on their backpack with a large colored dot showing which bus to get on. They don't take attendence, though, so if a child did not get on the bus, the driver wouldn't know. It does make sure kids get on the right bus, though.

ETA...it's the second week of school, and it has gone very smooth. I'm always amazed at how punctual our driver is. Both morning and afternoon, she is right on time.

That's normal for my area. Kids pile on the bus, kids get off on their own. If any kids are left over at the end of the run, the driver takes them back to the school and the secretary calls the parents to come pick them up. It's certainly scary sending younger kids on the bus, and many parents don't use the bus because of the lack of a good system. Many other parents follow the bus for the first few days to make sure their kids get on the right bus after school and get off at the right stop.

The first week or so can be pretty hairy, but after that it settles down as all the kids learn the routine.

When my kids were young they just let even the little guys get off where ever the child chose to get off. MOST little kids won't get off at a place they don't recognize and often they won't get off at a place they should recognize.

The issue sounds like the dad's little girl didn't get on the right bus to start with. It wasn't that the child got off at the wrong stop she was never on the bus to begin with. She likely rode the entire route with another driver who had to figure out what to do with her at the end of the route.

My grandkid's school gives each child a "bus pass" that lists the days of the week, which bus the child belongs on that day (some kids go to moms house m/w/f and dad's house on Tuesday and Grandma's house on Thursday) and the stop they are to be let off at.  So a driver won't let a child off at the wrong stop BUT it is very easy for a child to not attempt to get off at the right stop so he ends up riding the whole route because the driver can't turn around to go back to a stop they have already passed by.   As the semester goes on the driver will get aquainted with which child gets off at which stops but it takes a few weeks.

When I was a school bus kid it was the bus duty teachers responsibility to make sure the right kid got on the right bus. I know as kids got older it became more of our own responsibly.
The bus driver never called attendance...never counted heads either. In fact the bus drivers were usually talking to other drivers as the teachers loaded the bus...so they never knew who got on and who didn't.

I actually got left on the bus a few times and had to be picked up from the bus barn lol I was so scared!!

Also K-12 rode the bus together.

Lol. I'm sure a lot of people did. And I'd have no objection to my 1st grader riding an elementary school bus. But not one with secondary kids also. 

It takes time to work out the bugs. Late arrivals/departures are expected.

My daughters are occasional bus riders, typically car riders. Our tiny little town has students from elementary, middle and HS riding the same bus.

Around here it seems the bus drivers don't take any responsibility for who gets on or off. They leave it up to school staff. The kids just have to know their stop.

My little girl's bff was supposed go in the car pick up line but accidentally got herded into the bus line. She got on one of busses (she was too shy to say anything). Along the route she noticed a stop that was close to her grandma's house. She got off and walked there. Her grandma wasn't home so she hung out and waited. It was terrifying. Her father raised a hell like none other with the school and bus line and things have improved a bit.

Well, here, buses are by school, and the schools are broken down into smaller age groups. So 1st through 8th wouldn't be together.

But for the important part of the post, whether the driver should take attendance or whatnot, *here* that is not their job.

It is the teachers who are responsible for making sure that the kids are on the correct bus.

In elementary school, each child goes to school with their bus number from their parent(s). There are several lines formed at the end of the day, one line for each bus, and one teacher in charge of transporting that line to the correct bus. There are a list of names and the days they will/will not be on the bus at each line's meeting place.

There are also teachers helping kids get to the correct line in the first place to cut down on the number of kids who need to be changed at the last moment.


In Middle School the set-up is quite similar, but with a bit less hand-holding. The kids do still line up in certain areas, and there are teachers available to get kids to the correct lines, but once the teachers lead the kids outside, it is then up to the kid to walk from the school to the bus on their own. (In elementary, the teacher stays with their line until every student is on the bus.)

Then all of the lines of kids are brought out together.

Our child attends private school where busing is not available. However, IMHO it is the responsibility of the school district to inform parents of the assigned bus number & stop; the parents to ensure students know which bus & stop & meet them, as necessary/required; the school/bus duty staff to educate students on the procedures for locating & loading the buses & rules of conduct while riding the bus; & the bus driver to safely operate the bus & announce the stops by name, as printed on the information originally given to parents, at least for the first couple of weeks (e.g. intersection of Main & 1st St.). Given the age range of students riding buses, I can understand how it would take time for everyone to adapt & suggest you reserve judgement for now. If these problems persist past the second or third week, then voice concern. In the meantime, glad your girls have each other!

You always have the option of volunteering to improve the busing system &/or transporting your children to & from school, rather than denying them attendance at the school that addresses their academic needs/interests.