.E.I. kindergartners became part of the provincial school system this September, and it's also the first time school buses have had to accommodate these younger, smaller students.
Transport Canada recommends children under 40 pounds travel in booster seats.
About a third of school buses on the Island are equipped with eight built-in booster seats, complete with seatbelts, that are located at the front near the driver.
Schools have tried to match the kids who need them with the buses that have them. So most but not all children who need a booster seat have one.
While recommended, the special seats aren't legally required. Even without them, the school board said, the buses are safe for the smallest of children.
Kids are learning to buckle themselves
Dale Wilson says the kindergarten children he transports are learning to buckle themselves into the special booster seats. (CBC)But drivers are not supposed to help with the buckling in.
"When you start to bring an individual who is not the parent into that person's space, that close, there are certain concerns," said Grant Canfield, operations supervisor with the Eastern School District.
Canfield also said drivers shouldn't be buckling in the children because they're responsible for securing the vehicle and monitoring traffic among other tasks.
"To leave their seat and to park and delay the process, we've determined it's really not in best interest of the students," Canfield said.
Parents, teachers or older students help those children who need it, but most kids are learning to do it themselves.
"I try to keep the same child in each seat, so it's already adjusted for him," said bus driver Dale Wilson. "Some are getting help, but more are catching on every day and getting better. It's a little harder to get out, but most get into them now."
All new buses that are bought for P.E.I will come equipped with the special seats.
via www.cbc.ca
