As a cyclist who is in actual danger when a bus passes, unlike the bus's occupants who are encased in a gigantic brightly-colored steel safety cell, I have to respectfully ask bus drivers to pull off the road and let cyclists by.
I have just adapted my schedule to include a morning ride---sadly, at the peak of rush hour, which includes school rush hour. I would vastly prefer Not to ride rush hour, but with my schedule it is often morning rush hour or no ride at all. And since I have spent so many years commuting (often necessarily during rush hour) I feel that I can cope.
I see a Lot of school buses. Also, since I seek out narrower, less-traveled (and thus generally safer) roads, i end up in the situation which the OP describes.
For some reason, none of the bus drivers who pass me seem to need to risk the lives of Anyone. Somehow we all manage to share the road.
If the OP puts "children in harms way by going into the opposite lane of traffic" .... well that sort of speaks to the driver's sensibilities, no?
I have to assume that the driver means that s/he has to go around the cyclist, but does Not put the children in harm's way, because the driver only overtakes it when it is safe.
In which case ... what's this thread about?