Confusion abounds on who enforces school bus face mask requirements
Parents in Pewaukee were outraged to see a bus driver without a mask earlier this week.
Parents in Pewaukee were outraged to see a bus driver without a mask earlier this week.
Parents in Pewaukee were outraged to see a bus driver without a mask earlier this week.
There is confusion among some parents and district officials about who is left to enforce face mask requirements on school buses.
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Parents in Pewaukee were outraged to see a bus driver without a mask earlier this week.
"I was irate and then I realized that, that bus driver was my son's bus driver," said the mother of three students.
The photo was posted by a staff member on the district's Facebook page.
Despite a federal mandate requiring drivers and passengers wear masks, this driver was not.
"I guess I was surprised to see a driver not wearing a mask," the mother told WISN 12.
It even caught school Superintendent Mike Cady by surprise.
He said he received several complaints from parents about drivers and students not wearing masks.
"Who is enforcing masks on buses?" WISN 12 asked Cady on Thursday.
"Ultimately, you know, that falls to us to enforce that, but it's difficult," he said. "We have a driver whose primary job is to drive that bus safely and pay attention to the road, not to be policing whether kids are keeping masks on, on the back of the bus, that's difficult."
Cady said Riteway has addressed concerns and requirements with its drivers.
The superintendent said enforcing mask wearing on the bus, whether it's drivers or students, is a team effort between the district, parents and the bus company.
Cady also acknowledged it was still a work in progress.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the mask order, "applies to all public transportation conveyances including school buses."
In Germantown, the district sent a notice to parents saying masks on buses were optional, per Riteway.
The bus company has yet to respond to questions from WISN 12.
Its website promises "drivers always wear masks."
When seventh-grade student Trinity Smith got off the bus without a mask, her mom wasn't pleased.
"I definitely think the bus driver should be enforcing it, especially since the school is saying they need to wear them on the bus," Tia Smith said. "But the children also, especially seventh graders, should take that responsibility to make sure they wear those masks."
Pewaukee school officials said they were also working to make sure buses have extra masks to hand out should a student board without one.
They will not however deny a student transportation.
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