District Makes ZPass Mandatory for Kindergarten thru 5th Grade Bus Riders

The Huron Board of Education has approved mandatory participation for kindergarten through 5th-grade students in the Zonar ZPass system.

Earlier this year, Huron School District Transportation Department Team Leader Kathie Bostrom recommended making participation in ZPass mandatory for children in those grades who ride the bus.

Last August, the district received a grant for the system. ZPass is technology which allows school officials to identify when a student enters and exits a district school bus through a scannable card. The data can then be used to locate missing children.

Bostrom says parents who don’t want their children to participate can sign a waiver.

Bostrom says there will be consequences when students don’t comply.

The first conduct would be considered a warning. The second would result in busing privileges being suspended for 5 days. Busing privileges will be suspended for 10 days for the third conduct and an entire semester for subsequent conducts. Parents would be able to appeal the suspensions. The Z Pass will be available to middle school students if requested by parents, however, it will not be mandatory.

In other business, the board approved 1st reading of a new tiger head, which is the final piece of the district’s new branding package.