San Antonio ISD to Implement Child-Tracking Bus Safety Tech

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.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • 77% of Americans Support Gun Detection Technology in Schools, Workplaces, and Houses of Worship

    More than three-quarters of Americans (77.4%) believe gun detection technology should be deployed in schools, workplaces, and other public spaces, according to new survey data released recently. The national survey shows strong support for incorporating camera-based gun detection into existing video surveillance systems. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Beyond Containment: Redefining Cybersecurity and the Digital Campus at Washington College

    In the aftermath of a ransomware attack, Washington College stood at a crossroads — its legacy defined by centuries of academic excellence, but its digital infrastructure revealing the fragile underbelly of modern campus operations. Read Now

  • California School District Protects Campuses With Cloud-Managed Access Control

    Established in 1901 in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Mountain View Los Altos High School District (MVLA) serves 4,400 students across the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. It houses two award-winning high school campuses commonly ranked in the top 1 percent nationally; it also hosts a continuation high school, an adult education campus, an alternative academy for arts and technology, and a nontraditional high school program held at an innovation center. Read Now

Most   Popular