A. Generally
2. The board of education may permit the transportation of pupils nearer to school than the prescribed limits under the following circumstances:
b. The bus is not loaded to capacity when it reaches the pupils' stop.
c. Those under the limit, furthest distance from attendance area will be given preference.
d. The transportation of such pupils shall not in any way interfere with the regularly scheduled run of said buses.
e. Children who must walk along extremely hazardous roads may be transported regardless of the distance from home to school.
2. All students are required to abide by any additional, reasonable rules that may be established by the principal, bus operator, and/or transportation director.
3. The bus operator shall stand in the place of the parent while students are being transported on his/her bus and shall maintain proper order and control.
4. Consistent or flagrant violations of regulations pertaining to student conduct on buses may result in temporary or permanent suspension of bus privileges.
5. No student shall be put off a bus except at his/her regular stop, and all suspensions are to be reported promptly to the transportation director and the school principal. Only the school board can revoke bus privileges permanently.
6. Parents may appeal any suspension of bus privileges to the superintendent, and if dissatisfied with his/her decision, to the school board.
2. The activity should not conflict with the regularly organized transportation schedule.
3. Each request shall be accompanied by a brief narrative of how the proposed trip will be coordinated with classroom activities.
4. A list of approved parent volunteers must be submitted at this time if they are to act as chaperones.
5. It is the principals' responsibility to see that all trips are well chaperoned:
b. The number of chaperones required for each bus will be determined by the number and age of the students. However, at no time shall there be less than one chaperone per bus.
c. The principal shall designate one teacher to act as the lead chaperone. That person shall ride the lead bus and give the signal to depart when he/she is satisfied that all students are accounted for and everything is in order. All buses are to travel together, and at no time should other buses pass the lead bus unless an emergency requires such a move.
d. Each bus must have a teacher or chaperone designated to check the roll and notify the lead chaperone when all persons are present and accounted for.
e. The bus operator has final authority over the occupants of the bus when it is in motion.
f. The bus driver is not a chaperone and is not required to supervise students when the bus is stopped for activities.
7. Schools will be charged mileage from the point or origin (the school) to the destination and return. Any questions about variation of mileage turned in by two or more bus drivers on the same trip will be settled by the Transportation Director. Drivers shall return completed trip forms to the Transportation Director's office within five (5) working days of the conclusion of the trip.
8. The bus operator shall be allowed to begin one-half hour prior to the scheduled loading time for preparation of the bus and his time shall be counted continuously until the students are returned to the appropriate location. The bus operator will be allowed to claim an additional one-half hour for cleaning the bus. It should be noted that schools will be billed for any additional time required to clean a bus as a result of excessive littering by students.
9. Bus operators shall be assigned to extra trips by seniority on a rotating basis.
10. Buses are generally not provided for spectators. An exception to this rule is made in the event that a school has a team playing in regional or state playoffs. Spectator in this instance is defined as students and their chaperones.
11. Students who are involved in athletic or band activities shall be required to return home on the bus or they may be excused by the lead chaperone to return home with their parents if the parents come in person to pick up their child.
12. In the event of an overnight trip, the driver shall not be paid for off-duty time (sleeping time); however, no driver shall be paid for any less than eight (8) hours for each day of a two-or-more day duration trip. It should be noted that the eight (8) hours of driving time may be spread over a considerably longer period of time because of performance schedules, etc., as long as the break time is of a reasonable length. During the school year, Saturday and Sunday curricular and extracurricular trips shall be paid at the driver's regular daily rate.
13. Shuttle bus runs will be paid by the county; however, shuttle bus runs should be requested in writing. Examples of summer trips shall be paid at the established hourly rate. Examples of acceptable requests are: away ball games, parades, half-time performances at football games, and other required activities.
14. Comfortable seating for high school students would be as follows:
15. only the following are eligible to ride a school bus on a curricular or extracurricular trip:
b. Designated teacher chaperones and approved parent volunteers.
c. our policy has been that it is permissible for the driver and the teacher in charge of the trip to take a member of their immediate family with them. However, we should avoid creating situations where whole families are traveling with our employees. To do so would be inviting public criticism.
17. The use of school buses outside the state border shall be limited to within one hundred miles of the county line.
18. Only regularly employed and substitute certified bus operators shall be eligible to drive county owned vehicles for the purposes of transporting students to various school activities.