3541 - Transportation

3541

Non Instructional

Transportation

The Board of Education will provide reasonable transportation for all eligible students who are residents of Windsor Locks so that they may attend the public schools maintained by the Board. A student will not be provided transportation if the student is a graduate of a high school or vocational school or if the student has been legally excluded from school or transportation.

“Transportation” means the procedure, programs or fully effective and implemented plan by which a student is conveyed to and/or from school from their residence or the bus stop at public expense, whether by use of publicly owned equipment or by contract. Such transportation shall be over public roads approved pursuant to Section 10-220c of the Connecticut General Statutes and shall be furnished in a manner consistent with the provisions of state law and the regulations of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Students do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy within the school community while riding the school buses. Therefore, the Board of Education and/or the bus contractor may, from time to time, photograph students while they are riding on school buses by use of videotape or otherwise, to assist in monitoring student behavior. All such photographs and/or videotapes will be treated as confidential documents to the extent permitted by law, which will be distributed only to those employees or agents of the Board of Education and/or the bus contractor as needed, and to law enforcement agencies as appropriate unless otherwise required by law.

The Superintendent shall ensure that the operation of transportation:

1. Provides for maximum safety of students

2. Supplements and reinforces desirable student behavior patterns

3. Assists handicapped students appropriately

Legal References:

Connecticut General Statutes:

10-76d(e) Re: Transportation for Special Education

10-97 Transportation to Vocational Schools

10-186 Duties of local and regional Boards of Education regarding school attendance hearings

10-220 Duties of Boards of Education

10-220(c) Transportation of children over private rods. Immunity from liability

Adopted: April 1993

Revised: June 2001, April 2020

Replaces: 3800, 3803, 5200

R-3541

Transportation

REGULATION/PROCEDURES/FORMS

A. ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION

All students enrolled in kindergarten through grade five shall be provided with transportation to their school.

Students in grades six through twelve shall be considered to be within walking distance if they live within one mile of their school but may receive transportation when, in the opinion of the Superintendent, a hazard exists or the special needs of a student require such transportation in accordance with state statutes.

“Walking distance” means the linear measure of a prescribed or authorized pedestrian route between the student’s residence and his school from a point at the curb or edge of a public or private road nearest the student’s residence to a point at the entrance of the school, or a safe entrance to the school grounds located within one hundred feet of the school building entrance or the bus pick-up area, or the route from the point on the public thoroughfare nearest the residence to the school bus or vehicle embarkation point established by the Board of Education.

“Hazard” means a condition affecting the safety of students walking to and from school or a designated bus stop. A hazard shall generally be deemed to exist if a street, road or highway has no sidewalks or raised walk area plus any of the following conditions exist:

• A line of sight obstruction caused by a hill, curve, structure, outcropping, land form, planting, or other obscuring object or structure which may be safely negotiated by vehicles only at greatly reduced speeds.

• Any street, road or highway with speed limits in excess of 35 miles per hour which do not have traffic control devices at points where students must cross when going to or from school or to or from the bus stop.

• Where the history of vehicular and/or pedestrian accidents on the route along which the student walks is reasoned to be excessive and hazardous to the safety of a student.

• Where the width of the shoulder of the road along which the student walks is such that the safe walking of the student is precluded.

• When a student in grades kindergarten through grade five must walk to or from school at any time prior to 45 minutes before sunrise to any time 45 minutes after sunset.

• The usual or frequent presence of any nuisance, such as construction, snow piled on the raised walk area making such areas unusable, commercial entrances and exits where cars are crossing raised walk areas at speeds in excess of five (5) miles per hour; and any other such nuisance which is deemed to be dangerous or attractive to students.

B. BUS ROUTES

1. The Superintendent shall ensure that bus routes provide the safest, shortest and most economical transportation for eligible students. Routes shall be arranged in such a way as to equalize, as nearly as possible, the length of routes and bus loads and to provide for the full use of busses.

2. As a guideline, bus routes shall begin no earlier than 45 minutes before a school opens and students shall not be in transit from school more than 45 minutes.

3. If bus routes must be changed after the beginning of a school year due to additional enrollments, overcrowding, or time problems, the parents and students shall be notified in writing at least 24 hours prior to the change taking effect.

C. BUS ASSIGNMENTS

1. For both safety and discipline reasons, all students will be transported daily by the same regularly scheduled bus and transportation will be from the assigned bus stop to school and from school to the assigned bus stop only, except for the following situations:

• Students may be picked up and/or dropped off at a day-care location other than the listed family residence or designated bus stop.

• On scheduled early release days, students may be transported to a bus stop different from their normal stops.

• Students who are employed may be picked up and/or dropped off at the bus stop nearest to their place of employment, provided this change is intended to be ongoing during the school year.

In all exceptions, the alternative pick up or drop off location must be on a regularly scheduled bus route and such exceptions may not result in an overcrowding on a bus.

Requests for all such changes must be submitted by the parent or guardian in writing to the building principal. The written request must state specifically the nature of the request, the beginning and ending dates for the change and the reasons for the request. Parents of elementary students who request such changes must, prior to the change taking effect, follow-up the written request with a telephone call to the main office of their student’s school to confirm that the written request has been received and to assure that the request is indeed from the parent/guardian.

Under normal circumstances, such requests must be received no less than three (3) school days prior to the expected change during the school year or no less than two (2) calendar weeks prior to the first day of school during the summer vacation.

2. In the event of a family emergency due to illness, injury or accident, a parent may request a temporary change in bussing. Such request must be made to the principal or to the principal’s designee.

3. Kindergarten transportation is provided for half of the town in the a.m. and the other half in the p.m. If a parent requests that a student be assigned a kindergarten time that is opposite to the bus schedule, the parent must arrange transportation for the student.

D. BUS STOPS

1. Bus stop locations shall be determined by the bus company and shall be subject to the final approval of the Superintendent. Safety shall be the prime factor in determining the location of bus stops. The bus stop assigned to a student shall be the stop closest to the student’s family residence.

2. Bus stops for kindergarten students shall be as close to the homes of the students as possible; however, the location of a bus stop shall not place a bus driver in jeopardy of violating a state law or motor vehicle department regulation.

3. A student may board and exit the bus at the student’s assigned stop only.

4. Bus stops shall be printed in the newspapers and posted in each school and the Central Office during the month of August.

5. Requests for changes in bus stop locations will be considered if parents believe an established bus stop represents a hazard to their student. A request for a change in a bus stop should be communicated in writing directly to the bus company and must include justification for the change. The bus company shall respond in writing to such requests within ten school days following the receipt of the request or within ten business days if a request is received during the summer recess.

6. Parents who are not satisfied with a decision of the bus company may appeal that decision to the Superintendent.

7. If bus stops must be changed after the beginning of a school year due to additional enrollments, overcrowding, or time problems, the parents and students involved shall be notified in writing at least 24 hours prior to the change taking effect.

E. APPEALS

Any parent or guardian may appeal any administrative decision concerning school transportation by requesting a hearing before the Board of Education if the parent or guardian believes that the decision:

• Has resulted in an unsafe situation;

• Is not consistent with the laws of the State of Connecticut;

• Is not consistent with the regulations of the Department of Motor Vehicles;

• Is not consistent with the regulations of this policy.

The request for a hearing shall be in writing and shall detail the nature of the complaint and the remedy sought. The Board shall hold a hearing within ten calendar days of the receipt of the request, and the hearing shall be in compliance with the provisions of Sections 4-177 to 4-180 inclusive of the Connecticut General statutes. A stenographic record or tape recording shall be made of such hearing. The Board shall inform the complainant in writing of its decision and the reason(s) for its decision within ten calendar days of the completion of the hearing.

If a parent is not satisfied with the decision of the Board, the parent may appeal that decision to the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 10-186 of the Connecticut General Statutes.