FORSYTH COUNTY, GA — Students returned to class Thursday in Forsyth County, where the school district is testing new technology designed to help parents track school buses in real time.

Students in Carroll and Coweta counties also returned to class Thursday, marking the last major back-to-school day for metro Atlanta school districts.

Forsyth County Schools is testing GPS-enabled tablets on some buses. The district says the technology will eventually be installed on all 500 school buses by the start of the next school year.

Transportation Chief Mike Satterfield says the tablets will allow drivers to adjust routes based on road closures, crashes and weather.

“We’re going to be able to actually make adjustments to our bus routes and really take a look at what is the safest, most effective and most efficient way to get our students from point A to point B,” Satterfield said.

The technology will also allow parents and schools to track buses in real time through an app.

“It’ll allow our parents and our school to be able to track in real time the location of our buses,” Satterfield said.

Satterfield says the GPS-enabled tablets will help the district communicate where buses are and when they are expected to arrive at their next stop.

“It’ll allow us to really effectively share with our staff and with our schools and with our families not only where buses are, but when they might arrive at their next bus stop,” Satterfield said.

The district says testing is already underway on some routes. Coweta County Schools is also rolling out similar school bus tracking technology this school year.

WSB Radio’s Keith Cromwell contributed to this story.