HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. -- With a lot of students in a closed space, and in close proximity to each other, school buses are a big concern for a lot of parents, but Hillsborough County School Transportation officials say they’re taking all the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe.

On Thursday, school bus drivers ran their routes practicing for the start of school. School buses now have hand sanitizing stations and students are encouraged to use it as soon as they get on the bus. Everyone is required to wear a mask on board, and buses will load from back to front to limit contact between students. Roof hatches will also be left open for ventilation. 

School officials say the row behind the bus driver will always remain empty for the driver’s safety. The CDC recommends cleaning the buses once daily, however, Hillsborough County Schools will clean all of its buses twice each day and drivers will wipe down seats after each run.

"Drivers will be using the sanitation wipes to wipe down the hand rails, the high touch areas, such as that," Hillsborough Schools Transportation Manager Jim Beekman said. 

School buses hope to have no more than two students per seat, but it really all depends on how many students are on the bus at a time. 

"The good thing is that we have a split number of students that are going to be in brick and mortar and also remote learning, so what that's going to allow us to do is really kind of implement social distancing as we can. The best we can on our buses," Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Addison Davis said. 

The district is also encouraging parents to talk to their kids about socially distancing at bus stops too.

Officials say they have enough drivers to make do, but they are stil hiring. All drivers are also going through extra safety training to deal with COVID-19. 

Hillsborough County schools open on August 24, however, all students will do the first week online. Classrooms open August 31.