San Antonio ISD to Implement Child-Tracking Bus Safety Tech

Beginning next year, San Antonio Independent School District will offer parents the ability to opt-into a new system that will help them track their children when they take the school bus.

• By Jessica Davis
• June 04, 2019

Next year, San Antonio Independent School District will offer parents the ability to opt-into a new system that will track their children as they take the school bus.

The Z-Pass system, which sends parents a text message to let them know when and where their child got on or off their school bus, is being installed on all SAISD buses. As the district begins to roll out the program, the Z-Pass badges will only be available for students in grades five and below.

"Primarily it's the younger students that we seem to get the most calls about, and so as an added benefit to our parents in the district we thought it would be beneficial to start there," SAISD Transportation Director Cesar Flores said.

The district will use the new Safe Stop App to help parents plan their child’s commute. While buses run on a set schedule, weather and traffic delays can affect timing. The app will help eliminate the guesswork around when a school bus will show up.

"With this Safe Stop App, it'll actually give them the ability to look in real time how far away their bus is," Flores said.

As part of the new bus safety features, district administrators will also be able to view activity on school buses in real time, allowing them to check on students and staff in case of an emergency.

"We can actually log onto that bus and see if all the passengers inside the bus are safe or if we need to any sort of attention to them," Flores said.

SAISD will be the first Bexar County district to use the new bus safety measures. The changes are part of the School Bus Stop Arm Safety Program, which was implemented during the past school year.

The district plans to expand the Z-Pass bus safety program to older students over time.