What If There Is A Tornado Warning While Kids Wait For The Bus?

This morning parts of North Georgia experienced severe weather. For my community, a tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service just as my wife was about the take my son to middle school. My daughter was already sheltering in the hallway at the high school, which had already been in session for over an hour. We made a “common sense” decision to delay their commute to school until the warning expired. Some middle school students were likely waiting for school buses as the severe weather alerts buzzed our phones. I immediately noticed a frenzy of parental inquiries on social media: Where are the buses? or What are we supposed to do? This sequences of events prompted me to dig a bit deeper on this somewhat rare but clearly possible situation.

To be clear, this article is not written to criticize the Gwinnett County Public School (GCPS) system. In fact, I think the system was in a very difficult situation even as parents saturated the GCPS Facebook page with commentary. This was a very fluid weather situation. A tornado warning can happen rather quickly and gives very little time for a large school system to react in a manner acceptable to every parental situation. Through the lens of this specific scenario, I provide context relevant to any school system that might face a similar situation.

The GCPS system has a comprehensive inclement weather plan articulated online. However, like many in this area, it skews more toward winter weather situations. The policy does note, "Should severe weather move into the area during the day, plans to cancel classes will be announced on metro-Atlanta radio and TV stations and on the school system's web site before school is dismissed." Similar information is found in the GCPS Parent-Student handbook.

The Georgia Department of Education has very clear guidelines for bus drivers in severe weather situations:

If there is a tornado watch the district should monitor for the changing status of the weather. Drivers should continue their route under extreme caution and monitor their 2- way radio for changing conditions. If there is a tornado warning at dismissal time, the school should hold the children until the warning is lifted. Drivers should wait inside the school with the children.

The Department also provides guidance if the bus driver is already on a route: "If drivers are already on their route and become aware that a tornado warning has been issued they should proceed to the nearest educational facility or other shelter and take the students inside.” They are also suppose to notify the dispatch office of their location if possible and remain with students in shelter until the warning has expired. These guidelines, along with the in-school procedures, for severe weather are reasonable. However, what about the students waiting for buses or even already at the bus stop. They are caught in the gap created by the bus drivers adhering to procedures and parents who may have already departed for work. Many parents were asking GCPS where the buses were. However, familiarity with the policies would have clearly answered that question. So how is this situation rectified? 

Ultimately, I think parents and schools systems will need to grapple with the questions and use each scenario as a teachable moment. However, I do have some thoughts on this as well:

1. Parents should be familiar with local, county, and state procedures. I wonder how many parents have read their school system handbooks or the information on Department of Education websites.
2. Parents should make it a habit of being weather-aware. The National Weather Service clearly laid out a timeline for the possibility of severe weather in the days leading up to the event as did many of the local TV meteorologists. In such situations, parents might consider an alternative plan for the morning or evening bus stop. This is understandably a difficult choice given the work and other responsibilities in various households. It is also why parents are likely to lean on the school to solve the problem. However, the reality of this situation is that the bus drivers followed proper procedures. In a situation like this morning, use "common sense" and get the kids inside. 
3. Parents should also go over severe weather plans with students and coach them on available dissemination alerts and plans in similar weather situations. We plan for evacuating the house during a fire. Families should have similar plans for weather. I also recommend that you find your local National Weather Service office website, Facebook, or Twitter feed and don’t be overly reliant on Apps.

Situations like this morning are not solely the responsibility of the school system as you can see from my previous recommendations. However, perhaps there are things that school systems can do. Many school systems in the Southeast preemptively canceled school or announced early release times today. This was certainly an option in Georgia as well; however, this is not an easy decision either. What line is drawn for making such calls? Will such decisions be made for every tornado watch? If so, this could mean several days a year with delays. (Remember: A Watch is for conditions conducive to the event. A Warning is for immediate conditions associated with the event and often come with less lead-time.) As we transition into the Spring, severe weather threats are a common. I suspect that parents would tire quickly of delayed school or cancelations with every severe storm or tornado watch.

I do believe that many school systems need more comprehensive weather plans. Many plans are skewed toward winter weather conditions with some mention of severe weather. Such plans should be expanded to include guidance on extreme temperatures, flooding, and even non-tornadic severe weather like hail or gust winds. Plans must also consider the “gap” situations too:

1. Kids at school bus stops
2. Parents and kids in car rider drop-off and pick-up
3. After-school activities.

Finally, I highly recommend that every school system, staff member, parent, and student read the NOAA guide at this link for planning during weather emergencies.