School bus routing and stops are the responsibility of each school's principal. The Transportation Director assists school principals with technical and strategic planning.
Eligible Riders
A student will receive a stop assignment if his or her parent requests transportation from the school and the student is an eligible rider. To be an eligible rider, the student must:
- Live outside the no-transport zone (determined by each school individually);
- live within the school's district boundary; and
- be assigned to that school.
Bus Route and Stop Planning
Principals plan bus routes in a way designed to:
- Conserve fuel and use buses efficiently, including confining routes to the geographical area assigned to the school;
- eliminate overlapping routes, backtracking mileage and unnecessary trips; and
- reduce distances empty buses travel to their first stops ("deadhead").
A route cannot deviate from its general path of direction for less than one-half mile and then return to its original path unless:
- the stop is for a group of ten or more pupils;
- the stop is for unescorted students in grades K-3; or
- the stop is for special education students.
Unless safety factors require otherwise, principals may not plan bus stops less than two-tenths mile apart. Each student must be at his or her designated stop at the time of the bus's arrival.
Non-State Maintained Roads
Buses may travel non-state maintained roads for K-5 students only. Deciding factors can also include road width, road surface conditions, ungated development entrances, adequate turn around availability, stop signs, foliage growth cut for adequate line of sight and a signed HOA's use of private road permission agreement.
School Bus Capacity
According to state law, the rated capacity of a school bus is the maximum number of passengers allowed on that bus at any one time. To avoid overcrowding, a student will be assigned to ONE BUS ONLY.
