Transportation Staff

Bus drivers and transportation staff play an additional role in preventing sex trafficking as they are an extra set of eyes and ears for the school. Transportation staff see the environment where students are picked up and dropped off.  They are able to observe other people who are at the bus stop who may not have a known direct connection to the students.  

When bus drivers or transportation staff notice signs of possible sex trafficking, they need to follow the school’s established protocol to report their observations as soon as possible.  

What makes students with disabilities more vulnerable?

• Limited understanding of healthy romantic relationships
• Communication/language barrier
• Assumed not sexually active
• Desire romantic relationship and own family
• Difficulty with communication/speech
• Less credible by law enforcement due to disability

Red flags to watch for:

• Changes in student behavior
  • Does the student have multiple absences?
  • Is there a new/unknown person at the bus stop with the student for pick up and drop off?
  • Is the student dating or talking about dating an older boyfriend or girlfriend?
• Changes in students mood
  • Does the student seem to be more angry, irritated, or emotional?
  • Is the student displaying unusual clingy behavior?
  • Is the student isolating or keeping to themselves more than usual?
• Changes in the students physical appearance
  • Does the student unexpectedly have expensive items, like clothes, jewelry, backpack, cell phone in their possession?
  • Does the student have old or new signs of abuse?
  • Does the student have any unusual tattoos?
• Signs of control
  • Does the student make comments about exchanging sex for any good or service?
  • Does the student make comments about meeting a quota or having a pimp/trafficker?

Busing On the Look Out

Truckers Against Trafficking developed a program called Busing OnThe LookOut (BOTL). In this training video, city bus drivers, bus terminal employees, and school bus drivers follow along with a survivor’s story, the play, how to identify it, and what to do. School buses are highlighted throughout the video, but a specific section starts at 19:40 min.

Encourage schools to develop and implement protocols on how to report red flags.