TEMPLE, Texas — Local school districts are working to keep high trafficked areas clean and safe for students as they return to school.
The places where students gather the most are in the cafeteria and on buses, so Temple ISD has new safety guidelines for students.
When students walk into the cafeteria at any Temple ISD school, they'll notice things like tape on the seats and plexiglass when they grab their lunch. Ian Vestal, the director of school nutrition said this was done in an effort to keep high trafficked areas clean and safe.
"Schools make the world go round so it's very important for us to provide a safe environment for the students," Vestal said.
Traditionally, kids walk in, grab a washable plate, pick out their fruits, veggies, milk and punch their ID number. Now, Vestal said they have implemented a contact-less system.
"We left it up to the servers to put everything on their plate, so they'll go through the line not touching anything but choosing their meal, and they'll get their meal at the end of the line," Vestal said.
Instead of punching their ID number, they will now scan a barcode or the servers will verbally ID them.
At the bus stop, students will notice a sign on the bus that states face masks are required. Patrick Cain, the director of transportation at Temple ISD said bus drivers and students are all required to wear their masks when they're riding the bus. When they get on, the first thing they'll do is grab hand sanitizer before taking a seat.
"We're gonna load from the back to the front, from stops so that as they walk by each other they don't touch each other, and as we unload the buses at the school we will be unloading from the front to the back so we're trying to keep away from touching," Cain said.
Buses will be disinfected twice daily, after students are dropped off at school and at home.
"We're still in this to make it as safe as possible for the kids to get to school, that's our job that's our main goal getting your children to school safely," Cain said.
In addition to cleaning daily, every campus will be thoroughly sanitized and disinfected using electrostatic sanitation once a week
Temple ISD Safe Return to School: Parent Information, click here.
Waco ISD Bus Safety, click here.
Waco ISD Cafeteria Safety, click here.
Killeen ISD Return to Learn plan, click here.
More Back to School information here: