South Huntington Union Free School District staff outlined a plan to adopt the "Peaceful School Bus" program, which would pair bus drivers with students for off-bus meetings, team-building activities and behavior interventions intended to extend school expectations to the bus ride.

The presentation, given during a district meeting, emphasized that the program aims to "address the disconnect between the school culture and the bus environment," and to align bus-related behavior supports with the district’s existing social-emotional learning initiatives.

Dr. Heather, identified in the meeting as the presenter, described the program’s core elements: bus drivers meeting with students inside school buildings to build relationships, structured activities focused on creative problem solving and regular check-ins involving administrators. "What it really does is it addresses the disconnect between the school culture and the bus environment," Dr. Heather said. She added that the work is intended to make expectations for character and citizenship consistent across the school day and on buses.

A district staff member noted operational issues at specific schools, saying, "Something's happening at Countrywood, that driver doesn't have a lot of time to communicate with billing administration, with staff, teachers, because they're willing to do their next run-in a timely fashion for Maplewood." That comment highlighted scheduling and communication pressures the program would need to accommodate.

Program materials described in the presentation include reward systems such as competitions, monthly recognitions and an end-of-year driver celebration; the presenter said those features are meant to reinforce positive behavior. "There are a lot of different activities that they can do at that time," Dr. Heather said, and she referenced the program materials' emphasis on incentives and celebrations.

The transcript records discussion of operational details such as early drop-off logistics but does not show any formal motion or vote to adopt the program. The record also does not specify a timeline, budget, or which schools would pilot the program.

The presentation combined behavior strategy (alignment with the district’s EBS/SEL work) and operational considerations (scheduling and communication between drivers and school staff). The transcript does not document a formal decision or next-step assignment.