Conroe ISD Adds Security With Student Tracking for Buses

Conroe ISD this week began using the SMART Tag system which requires bus riders boarding and exiting to scan a card, giving parents the ability to sign up for notifications and know when their child's bus will arrive for pick up in the morning and drop off in the afternoon. The system also records when and where a student gets on and off a bus.

The school board approved $850,000 for the system in August.

“It's really important to make sure students are on the right bus,” Chris McCord, assistant superintendent of operations for CISD. “Right now, we have 320 bus routes and we have 40,000 students that ride the bus. It’s a real problem if a young student gets off at the wrong bus stop.”

The system, McCord said, will also be beneficial when substitute drivers are needed since they won't know the students like the regular route driver.

McCord said each student will be given a SMART Tag identification card and lanyard over the next several weeks. The cards will have the student’s name printed on them but there is no personal information stored on the card, McCord said.

The district, McCord said, has set up a website to provide more information and the rollout process of the system.

A district representative said the program is expected to be fully implemented by May.

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