680.0 Transportation to/from Schools

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TRANSPORTATION TO SCHOOLS

Student Section Policy #680.0

SERVICES PROVIDED

The Board provides transportation services to and from the school to which the student has been assigned, under the following general guidelines.
1. Grades K to 6 - Students should not be expected to spend more than three quarters of an hour travelling in a vehicle to or from school, and any pick-up more than 60 minutes prior to school start time shall be considered exceptional.
2. Grades 7 - OAC - Students should not be expected to spend more than one hour in the vehicle, and any pick-up more than 75 minutes prior to school start time shall be considered exceptional.
3. Exceptional Students - Students deemed exceptional by an Identification, Placement and Review Committee may require transportation. This is approved by the Superintendent of Schools or designate in consultation with transportation staff. Transportation for Section 27 students must be approved by the Section 27 Liaison teacher.
  
  Where possible, exceptional students shall be transported on regular bus routes in accordance with the provisions of this policy.
4. Students with Medical Certificates - Subject to the approval of the Director or designate, transportation may be provided for students not otherwise qualifying for transportation privileges, for whom a certificate of a qualified medical practitioner is provided, indicating that the student is unable to walk to school because of physical or health reasons. Medical certificates must be consistent with school observations and programs.
5. Transportation To and From Child Care Programs
  
  A current sample list of licensed child care programs shall, where possible, be prepared for each elementary school, indicating at least one facility that is within walking distance to the school, or to which Student Transportation Services has agreed to provide transportation. Subject to annual review this list shall be prepared by the Child Care Coordinators in cooperation with Student Transportation Services.
  
  The school principal shall ensure that the information is made available by appropriate means to parents who may be in need of licensed child care.
6. Students with Dependent Children
  Students returning to school who have pre-school age children of their own, may be eligible for transportation together with their pre-school age children providing that:
  1. the student provides for a child seat if necessary;
  2. a child care program stop does not delay unreasonably or necessitate re-routing a bus;
  3. the transportation request is recommended by the Principal and approved by the Manager of Student Transportation Services.
  Where hardship can be demonstrated, upon recommendation by the Principal and approval by the Manager of Student Transportation Services, walking distance policies may be waived. Each case shall be considered on an individual basis.
DISTANCE LIMITS
1. Kindergarten - Grade 3 - A child who lives within 1.2 kilometres from the school shall not be entitled to transportation.
2. Grades 4 - 8 - A child who lives within 1.6 kilometres of the school shall not be entitled to transportation.
3. Grades 9 - OAC - A student living outside of a local municipal transit service area, and within 3.2 kms of the nearest York Region District School Board secondary school shall not be entitled to transportation. A student living within a local municipal transit service area and within 4.8 kms of the nearest York Region District School Board secondary school shall not be entitled to transportation.
4. Students may be transported for reasons of safety rather than distance in situations where this is recommended by the Superintendent of Schools and/or the Associate Directors, and approved by the Joint Board Consortium.
COLLECTOR POINTS
1. Students shall be picked up and dropped off at collector points. The factors to determine collector points shall be safety, efficiency and economy. The normal walking distance to collector points shall not exceed 400 metres for elementary students and 600 metres for secondary students.
2. The most recently published Average Daily Traffic Volumes will be used in determining the direction and location of school bus stops along major roadways as follows:
  1. students will not be required to cross the road for school bus pick-up where the Average Annual Daily Traffic exceeds 6,000 in the case of school bus vans, and 10,000 in the instance of larger school bus vehicles;
  2. student pick-up along roadways on which the Average Annual Daily Traffic volume exceeds 10,000 in the case of school bus vans or 20,000 in the case of larger school bus vehicles will be considered exceptional.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Where a student could reasonably use public transportation service and lives outside the 4.8 km distance, tickets or reimbursement for tickets may be supplied rather than transportation by school bus. This decision is at the discretion of the Manager of Student Transportation Services.
TRANSPORTATION FOR ATTENDANCE AT A SCHOOL OUTSIDE ONE'S AREA
1. Students who, by choice, attend schools outside their attendance areas or York Region District School Board secondary schools which are not the closest to their homes shall not be entitled to transportation.
2. Periodically, the Board may approve special programs (e.g. French Immersion, Arts York) for which clause 5(a) shall be waived, but for which all other clauses of this policy shall apply.
3. In special circumstances, the Superintendent of Schools may approve transportation for students to attend other schools to attend special courses.
ESTABLISHING BUS ROUTES
1. The establishing of bus routes shall be the responsibility of the Manager of Student Transportation Services.
2. The seating capacity of a school vehicle shall be limited to the manufacturer's rating, with maximum load calculated using the Ministry of Education and Training student weighting formula.
ROLE OF THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
1. The principal shall have the authority:
  1. to deal with all problems of discipline in the same manner as those that occur on school property;
  2. to suspend the provision of regular or temporary transportation, subject to parental appeal to the Superintendent of the Area;
  3. to refuse a student otherwise entitled to transportation permission to ride on a school bus, subject to parental appeal to the Board.
2. The Principal shall ensure that school bus lists which will indicate those students who are entitled to school bus transportation and the bus on which they ride, are current and available from the school's SAS computer records.
ROLE OF THE BUS DRIVER
1. The driver of the bus shall be responsible for maintaining proper conduct on a school bus, and for reporting promptly to the principal of the school which a pupil attends any problems of discipline on the bus.
2. All bus drivers are to be given definite instructions in writing regarding their responsibility and the procedures to be followed in maintaining discipline.
ROLE OF PARENTS

Parents are responsible for the safety and behaviour of their children prior to pick-up and following drop off at the end of the school day.
ROLE OF STUDENT

Every student is responsible to the principal of the school for his or her conduct while travelling on a school bus.

POLICY HISTORY

Approved 1992
Revised 1998

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