LAFAYETTE PARISH, La. (KLFY) –  For students who take the bus in Lafayette Parish, an extra set of eyes will now be watching their every move.

“If children act up, you can’t crash a classroom. You can crash a bus, if the driver has his eyes off the road and on the children” said Joey Simon, Transportation Coordinator for Lafayette Parish School System.

He says the School System started installing the cameras in November. Simon believes the cameras are essential.

“Now we can capture the footage, look the stiuation, and deal with it after the fact,” he said.

In the coming weeks, every one of the 250-plus buses in the parish, will have cameras installed on them.

“We need to have protection for our children, and for our drivers. Drivers need to feel protected, they need to feel like somebody’s watching over them,” said Simon.

There’s a total of 5 cameras on each bus. The goal of the cameras is to promote discipline as well as safety, while monitoring children as they’re traveling to and from school.

“We all looked at it together and said this is a great idea for Lafayette Parish. 
Lafayette parish needs this. We’re a large district, we have a lot of issues to deal with, and they have been a real God-send for us,” said Simon.

Some of those issues can be bullying on the bus or reckless driving. Simon says the cameras help provide accountability.

“They’re clear enough to where we can see details that you normally would’nt be able to see,” he said.

Those details which in turn, could give the school system a little sense of security heading into the future.

The buses also have a green “panic” button for the drivers to use in emergency situations.