SPED Bus Aide

Position Type:
Transportation

Date Posted:
4/22/2024

Location:
Maintenance and Transportation

Closing Date:
04/29/2024Description: This is not intended to be an all inclusive list of duties, responsibilities and general objectives for
this position but is rather documented here to give the reader the general understanding as to the
scope of the position.

• The Bus Attendant must have good short and long term memory and the mental stamina to stay alert and attentive for upwards of the approximately 2 hours of bus operations at a time, both during the morning session and again in the afternoon session. He / she must remain awake, alert and attentive to the activities ongoing in the bus and with each student so as to make safe decisions and use proper judgement. The Bus Attendant must be able to cope with the mental stress placed on him / her to meet the demands of the job. He / she must be able to convey his / her decisions to others in a diplomatic manner so as to successfully accomplish the job in a safe and efficient manner. The Bus Attendant will be scheduled to work both the morning session to pick up and deliver the students to their respective schools and again in the afternoon to pick up and deliver the students to their homes or drop off point. Because the students pick up and drop off times are scheduled, it is imperative that the employee be punctual as well as be able to work on a daily basis as scheduled. The Bus Attendant must be aware of his / her surroundings as well as each of the students on the bus at all times. Te students may have medical, psychological or behavioral problems / concerns that could require immediate attention. Furthermore, some students are unable to speak while others may have behaviors that can potentially be harmful to other students or to the student themselves. Therefore, the Bus Attendant will continually monitor all the students throughout the bus operations as well as when the Attendant and Bus Driver is involved in loading or unloading the bus. The Bus Attendant will maintain good communication with the Driver, alerting him / her in a timely manner when a situation might require the bus to be stopped and assistance needed. The Bus Attendant is responsible for maintaining control of the student from the time he / she is picked up until the point where the parent or teacher relieves him / her of the child. This will often require the Bus Attendant to step down and off the bus with the child and wait until the parent / guardian / teacher arrives to relieve him / her of the student. Because of the physical, mental, emotional, psychiatric and behavior problems that the students might display, each Bus Attendant must be able to quickly and efficiently respond in a coordinated manner to any unexpected quick and sudden behavior or actions by a student. This can includehaving to physically restrain a student or move to circumvent the student's means of egress from the bus. When attending to a behavioral situation, the Bus Attendant can expect the student to jerk (from a spastic movement), swing, head butt, bite, spit or attempt to hit the Bus Attendant or other
  individuals. The Bus Attendant must be able to remain calm in a possibly ever changing and hostile environment. He / she must be able to follow established protocols and procedures in a quick and efficient manner. All employees are instructed to report any unsafe or potentially unsafe situations to their supervisor immediately. The Bus Attendant must be able to effectively deal with these reports in a timely and expedient manner. He / she must know when to go to the supervisory personnel on duty when a difficult problem arises that requires a solution that might be different from the normal operating procedures. The employee must be able to quickly assess a situation, seek appropriate advice / information from others and execute his / her decisions in a clear and decisive manner. The Bus Attendant must be able to receive constructive feedback in a positive manner. He / she must be able to work as a member of a team, listen to, grasp and respond quickly and positively to supervision and instructions. Physically the Bus Attendant must have good dynamic balance and the strength and agility to quickly, smoothly and efficiently transition to and from the floor without the aid of a stationary object for support, use all 4 extremities in a coordinated manner as well as have the physical stamina and conditioning to respond to a variety of emergency situations. The employee can be called upon to physically restrain students with a variety of physical, behavioral and psychiatricproblems. To successfully (safely and efficiently) perform this activity, each Bus Attendant will have to be able to quickly move all four extremities in a controlled manner to be able to grab, block or hold onto the student. Although the physical requirements necessary to successfully maintain control of the situation will depend on the size and strength of the individual student involved, each Bus Attendant will have to possess normal upper extremity and lower extremity strength and grip strength that is, at least, considered normal for their age and gender. Furthermore, the Bus Attendant will have to be able to walk safely and efficiently on a moving bus. The Bus Attendant will have to be able to lift a child weighing upwards of 52 lbs to a child seat or other seated height to secure him / her for the ride. There are occasions where the employee will have to be able to lift the child from the ground to an upright position. When working with the students the Bus Attendant will stand, walk, physically stabilize and talk with the students. The employee must be patient and kind yet have the capacity to be stern and direct with the students where appropriate. The employee will follow the established protocols on how to deal with the students. The Bus Attendant, along with the Bus Driver, are responsible for alerting school administration personnel when behavior or other physical problems interfere with their ability to safely and efficiently transfer the students on the bus. The Bus Attendant must be able to quickly, smoothly and efficiently respond to a variety of
  emergencies or situations that require the individual to move at a fast / quick pace / manner. Because of this, the individual will have to work while wearing closed toed and closed heel shoes. The shoes must not have high heels and must have good traction soles. Furthermore, the
  individual should not wear skirts that are above the knee or tight that would restrict the individual's ability to quickly squat, bend and or move to and from the floor level. The Bus Attendant should not wear any dangling jewelry (necklaces, earrings, pendants) that can be caught by the student during transfers or confrontations or sudden movements. Furthermore the Bus Attendant should not wear strong perfumes and or colognes that could have an adverse affect on students with breathing difficulties.

Job Summary: The Bus Attendant is responsible for working with the Bus Driver to:

• ensure the students get on and depart from the bus in a safe and efficient manner while allowing / encouraging the student to exercise as much independence as possible. This will include physically assisting with wheelchair lifts along with walking with and guiding the student as he / she travels on and off the bus
• supervise and maintain order on the bus
• ensure that protective safety devices for each child is properly secured and in use during all times of bus operations
• ensure the student is closely supervised and monitored until relieved of this obligation by the parent or guardian - this will entail monitoring the students as they cross streets, etc
• assist with emergency procedures as trained and where appropriate
• perform housekeeping duties on the bus

Qualifications: High School Diploma and must meet physical requirements

Working Conditions:
Weather / Temperature: Most of the buses used by the parish for special education students are climate controlled (air conditioning and heat). However, there are occasions where the climate controlled devices are not functional. During this time the employee will have to be able to effectively tolerate working in the weather conditions at the time. There are occasions where the employee will have to be able to assist the loading and unloading of students in all kinds of weather conditions including clear and calm as well as rainy, windy, cold and hot / humid conditions. During times the Bus Attendant is working outside of the bus, He / she is exposed to the normal temperatures and humidity present in south Louisiana. The temperatures may reach the upper
80E's - 90E's to lower 100E's during the summer months with high humidity. He / she is exposed to cold temperatures generally no lower than 10E - 12E. High winds may substantially effect the chill factor.

Noise: The Bus Attendant can be exposed to intermittent noises from the students as well as continual road noises and bus operation noises of sufficient intensity and pitch to provide distraction in some persons. He / she must be able to maintain his / her concentration in this environment.

Vibration: When riding in a school bus, the Bus Attendant is exposed to vibrations ofsufficient intensity to provide distraction in some persons.

Application Procedure:
Apply online

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