School Bus Monitors

Summary of What they do:

Maintain order among students on a school bus. Duties include helping students safely board and exit and communicating behavioral problems. May perform pretrip and posttrip inspections and prepare for and assist in emergency evacuations.

Tasks On The Job

1. Announce routes or stops.
2. Assist disabled children or children with psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues with boarding and exiting the school bus.
3. Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation.
4. Clean school bus interiors by picking up waste, wiping down windows, or vacuuming.
5. Direct students boarding and exiting the school bus.
6. Direct students evacuating the bus during safety drills.
7. Escort young children across roads or highways.
8. Evacuate students from the school bus in emergency situations.
9. Guide the driver when the bus is moving in reverse gear.
10. Monitor for trains at railroad crossings and signal the bus driver when it is safe to proceed.
11. Monitor the conduct of students to maintain discipline and safety.
12. Open and close school bus doors for students.
13. Operate a wheelchair lift to load or unload wheelchairs.
14. Prevent or defuse altercations between students.
15. Report delays, accidents, or other traffic and transportation situations to dispatchers or other bus drivers, using phones or mobile two-way radios.
16. Respond to students' questions, requests, or complaints.
17. Talk to children's parents or guardians about problematic behaviors, emotional or developmental problems, or related issues.
18. Write and submit reports that include data such as the number of passengers or trips, hours worked, mileage driven, or fuel consumed.