Osceola County school bus drivers trained to spot possible human trafficking victims

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Staff members at several school districts across Central Florida have gone through a lot of new training this year.

Most of it has been for COVID-19 safety measures. But the school district of Osceola County announced it can’t ignore a different crisis.

Osceola County Public Schools is working to train all staff on human trafficking awareness.

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The district first trained its bus drivers.

Ronald Coffee is going into his second year of driving buses for the school district of Osceola County.

“With COVID-19, a lot has changed,” Coffee said.

Coffee said he enforces all the coronavirus protocols on his bus.

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The school district has also trained almost every bus driver on how to identify victims of human trafficking.

“I think it’s a really important topic,” said Antonia Rapinesi, with social services for Osceola County Public School. “And it’s really kind of something that’s in the dark. It’s like a secret.”

With the help of the Osceola County Department of Corrections, all school district staff will soon be trained in human trafficking awareness.

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The training started three weeks ago.

So far, no bus driver has reported seeing any signs of human trafficking.

The school district is hoping to train cafeteria staff next month.

Cox Media Group