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Policies

Purpose

 

Transportation for students shall be provided in accordance with law and the following guidelines.

 

Authority

 

The Board shall purchase and contract for school bus services for the transportation of students to and from school at regularly scheduled hours and for the transportation of students on field trips and athletic trips.[1][2][3][4][5]

 

The Board will also provide transportation for students living within the limits of this policy when the walking conditions to the school are found to be hazardous by the Department of Transportation.[2][6]

 

Delegation of Responsibility

 

The school bus driver shall be responsible for the discipline of students while they are being transported to or from school. A student may be suspended from bus transportation by the principal for disciplinary reasons, in which case the parents/guardians are responsible for the pupil's transportation.[5]

 

Reports of Employee Crimes/Child Abuse

 

The district’s transportation contract carriers shall be responsible to inform the district in writing at the beginning of each school year whether or not they or any of their employees:

  1. Have been charged, subsequent to approval as a district bus driver, with a criminal offense that would bar their employment as bus drivers or contracted service providers.
     
  2. Were charged with a crime deemed serious under the criteria established by law.
     
  3. Have been charged with or convicted of crimes that affect their suitability to have direct contact with students.

This responsibility is in addition to the requirement for clearances that must be presented to the district when an individual is initially hired by the district or the contract carriers.

 

The district and contract carriers shall have procedures in place to ensure they are notified by their employees when the employees are charged with crimes or child abuse. The procedures shall also include the provision that the failure on the part of employees to make such a timely notification shall subject them to disciplinary action, including termination.

 

If any bus drivers have been charged as stated in this policy, the transportation contract carriers shall, in their written, yearly notification, include the name of the employee, nature of the offense, and the status of the disposition. The district will review this information to determine if the employee shall continue to transport district students.

 

Regulating Bus Stops

  1. Bus stops shall be established or relocated under the direction of the Superintendent or his/her designated representative in cooperation with the contractor of the bus system. A bus stop so established will be designated as authorized when the Board has approved its designation as such. The contractor may not permit his/her drivers to load or unload patrons at other than authorized bus stops.
     
  2. Parents/Guardians are responsible for the safety of their children while walking or riding on vehicles other than school buses between home and school or home and authorized bus stop.
     
  3. On school days, it is recommended that parents/guardians have their children at the bus stop five (5) minutes to ten (10) minutes prior to regular bus arrival time and students are to wait a minimum of thirty (30) minutes, weather permitting, after regular pick-up time. At such time, parents/guardians should make every effort possible to take their child or children to school. Bus tardies or absences will not be illegal if accompanied by a written excuse from the parent/guardian.
     
  4. The following regulations shall govern the location of bus stops for all resident students to and from school in grades K -12.
     
    1. Existing bus stops will remain in effect. Students may have no more than two (2) designated stops total for the entire school year. These stops will remain in effect for the entire school year. Any deviation from this schedule will revert back to the home stop.
       
    2. New and additional bus stops will be considered where students walk more than one-half (1/2) mile to the nearest existing bus stop.
       
    3. New and additional bus stops will be considered where students must walk a distance greater than one-half (1/2) mile and no place is provided for a safe turn around of the bus.
       
    4. New and additional bus stops will not be located along heavily traveled roads such as Broughton Road, Brownsville Road, Brownsville Road Extension, and Library Road unless a student must walk more than one-fourth (1/4) mile along any of these roads.
       
    5. New and additional bus routes will not go through subdivisions (a subdivision as used in this policy refers to a plan of homes or an apartment complex) unless the subdivision borders one of the heavily traveled roads in paragraph d. Exceptions will be made for special education circumstances only.
       
    6. New and additional bus routes will not go through a subdivision unless it may enter and exit the subdivision the shortest route.
       
    7. No bus is permitted to turn around at any intersection of a subdivision.
       
    8. No bus routes will be established on private roads but will pick up at nearest stop on public roads.
       
    9. Bus stops will be reviewed annually for safety and hazardous road conditions.
       
    10. Requests for new bus stops will be evaluated from a traffic safety standpoint only using criteria listed under Pennsylvania Department of Transportation criteria for determination of hazardous walking routes.
       
    11. The district cannot consider factors that are associated with individual family or parental situations. Such concerns are expected to be resolved by the family or parent/guardian, not the school district. Examples include, but are not limited to:
       
      1. Neighborhood feuds or conflicts with nearby residents.
         
      2. Parent/Guardian not able to walk to bus stop with child because of other obligations.
         
      3. Unrestrained pets in neighborhood.
         
      4. Dual or multiple guardianship and associated requests for frequent changes.

While on the Bus

  1. There shall be no smoking on a school bus or van.
     
  2. There shall be no fighting on a school bus or van.
     
  3. There shall be no use of obscene words on a school bus or van.
     
  4. Remain seated while the bus is in motion.
     
  5. Keep head, hands, and arms inside the bus.
     
  6. Do not throw anything out of the bus window.
     
  7. For any violation(s) of the above, the principal shall exercise his/her authority as follows:
     
    1. First Offense - The student shall be suspended from riding the school bus for up to ten (10) days.
       
    2. Second Offense - The student shall be suspended from school for up to ten (10) days.
       
    3. Third Offense - The student shall be notified to appear before the Board for a hearing if the principal so determines it is warranted.

Multiple Bus Disciplinary Offenses

 

The South Park School Board authorizes its administrative staff to exclude students with multiple bus disciplinary offenses from riding the South Park school buses for a period of one (1) academic year.

 

A school bus driver shall not be employed until s/he has complied with the mandatory background check requirements for criminal history and child abuse and the district has evaluated the results of that screening process.[7][8][9]

 

The Business Manager shall:

  1. Prepare a map of the district indicating each bus stop and bus route or prepare a schedule of bus stops and an itinerary of bus routes to be used in conjunction with a district map.[5]
     
  2. Maintain such records and make such reports regarding school transportation as are required by the State Board of Education.[3][5]
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