School Bus Service 2015/2016

Transcription

1 School Bus Service 2015/2016 INTRODUCTION: Thank you for trusting us with your child s school transportation needs. While we strive to provide your family and children with the safest and most enjoyable transportation experience possible, we are simply unable to succeed without parent support and cooperation. Please help keep our bus environment SAFE, RESPECTFUL and RESPONSIBLE for the 1,800 students we service each day. If you have any questions or suggestions concerning student transportation, please feel free to call us at PARENT/GUARDIAN GUIDE TO SCHOOL BUS SERVICE: 1. Please know school bus service is intended to be an extension of your child s school day and is available only to families who are determined to be eligible and are willing to accept the established rules, expectations, and consequences associated with the service. 2. Determination of routes, route assignments, bus stops, and bus stop times are based on overall benefit rather than any individual student or family need. 3. In order to receive bus service, your child s primary residence must be at least 3 miles from the school in which your child is enrolled or be approved by the School Board. 4. The district reserves the right to establish school boundaries and assign students based on district need. 5. A completed bus registration form with a parent/guardian signature is required to initiate new bus service or request any changes to existing bus service. 6. All students are limited to only 1 regular pick up location and 1 regular drop off location at any given time. 7. Elementary students in grades K and 1 st are required to have a parent, guardian, or authorized individual to meet them at the home bus stop. 8. A parent/guardian or designated adult s signature is required for home delivery of all special needs PK students and students assigned to special needs transportation buses. 9. Students are required to be at the bus stop at least 5 minutes prior to their scheduled pick-up time. 10. Bus Drivers are discouraged from talking with parents at the bus stop for safety and scheduling reasons. 11. No student will be allowed off the bus at a location other than their regularly assigned bus stop or school bus zone without prior approval from a parent/guardian or school official. 12. Parent/guardians wanting to sign their child off the bus may do so only at preapproved bus stops. 13. Students are limited to having no more than one guest without prior approval from the bus driver. 14. Large carry-on items that cannot be stowed under a seat or on your child s lap may be prohibited. 1

2 15. Students are approved to eat or drink on the bus provided that it is done so in a responsible manner. 16. Animals, reptiles, and insects other than documented service animals are strictly prohibited on the bus. 17. At the home bus stop, students are considered to have missed the bus once the bus driver has cancelled the vehicle s loading lights and/or resumed forward motion. 18. At school, students are considered to have missed the bus once the bus has entered a public roadway. 19. Crossover students waiting to load or discharge from the bus are required to wait to cross the road until they have looked both ways for traffic and the bus driver has given them an All- Clear signal to proceed. 20. In the event that a student is issued a bus conduct report, a parent or legal guardian must sign the student copy and return it to the driver before bus privileges can resume. By signing, the parent is documenting receipt of the conduct form. 21. Students are encouraged to use electronic devices on the bus provided that they are used responsibly. 22. The bus driver is authorized to assign/reassign student seating on the bus without the need to provide formal behavior documentation or parent/guardian approval. 23. A student seating chart is required by law enforcement when the bus has been involved in an accident. 24. Video and audio surveillance is employed to help document the bus environment. Due to the limited effectiveness of bus surveillance, student behavior incidents often include witness statements. 25. For a full description of school bus service, please go on-line to or call us at Student Conduct Report Overview: The bus driver will work with individual students to help familiarize and encourage appropriate student behavior expectations. If the bus driver feels that verbal redirection is not appropriate and/or that the student s behavior is getting worse, a bus conduct report may be issued. A bus driver that issues a Bus Conduct Report is responsible to phone the student s parent/guardian at the first reasonable opportunity to discuss the behavior concern and request parent/guardian support. When a Bus Conduct Report reaches the District Transportation Office, the parent copy of the report will be mailed to the child s primary residence along with a copy of the general behavior expectations established for bus service eligibility. Parents with questions or concerns regarding a Bus Conduct Report are asked to talk with their child s bus driver. All school bus suspensions will be consistent with the established practices for student school bus eligibility. In the event that a student is denied school bus privileges, the child s parent/guardian will be notified by phone from their child s bus driver and by mail from the Transportation Office. A student s loss of school bus privileges is intended to begin on the next scheduled bus ride unless other arrangements have been made with your child s bus driver. Discipline Procedure If a student violates one or more of the established behavior expectations for school bus eligibility, the student s behavior concern will be addressed in the following manner. 2

3 1. The bus driver or transportation official will issue the student a Bus Conduct Report for misconduct when they feel that it is appropriate or they feel that the student has become resistant to more informal attempts of intervention. If the conduct report is issued during route, the student may be given the student s copy of the report to take home for parent/guardian signature. The signed form should then be returned to the bus driver before the student s next scheduled use of bus service unless a temporary suspension from bus service is warranted. 2. The transportation official that issued the Bus Conduct Report is responsible for contacting the student s parent/guardian directly upon completion of the route unless other arrangements have been made with the District s Transportation Supervisor. 3. All recommendations for student bus suspension must be reviewed and approved by the District s Transportation Supervisor. 4. Parents with questions or concerns regarding their child s bus behavior can request a meeting with the District s Transportation Supervisor to review their child s case. 5. Any parent/guardian who feels that their child has not been treated appropriately by the District s Transportation Supervisor can request to have the case reviewed by the school s building administrator. In some cases, the review team may include the District s Special Education Director, the District s Superintendent of Schools, and the Gallatin County Student Transportation Committee. Bus Behavior Expectations: It is the expectation of the Belgrade School District to view the bus environment as a direct extension of the school day. To help with this, the general student behavior expectations established at all Belgrade School District Schools are consistent with the general student behavior expectations established for bus service. These general student behavior expectations include the following: 1. Be SAFE 2. Be RESPECTFUL 3. Be RESPONSIBLE Bus Discipline Overview: In order for your child s bus driver to focus fully on traffic, it is critical that student distractions be limited as much as possible. Because of the dire consequences that student misbehavior on the bus can have during transport, it is appropriate to assign a heightened level of consequences to address student behavior concerns. Student behavior expectations and associated bus rules are as follows: 1. Be SAFE a. Sit safely in your assigned seat. b. Talk quietly and avoid causing distractions c. Keep your head, arms and body inside the bus windows. 2. Be RESPECTFUL a. Follow the Bus Driver s directions the first time. b. Avoid arguing with the Bus Driver. 3

4 c. Use appropriate language and subject matter. 3. Be RESPONSIBLE a. Report bus related concerns to your Bus Driver. b. Keep you area clean and free of vandalism. c. Promote a safe and comfortable bus environment through your actions. It is the responsibility of the Bus Driver to work with all assigned students by encouraging familiarization and compliance with the student behavior expectations established for bus service. When a student s behavior is unaffected by verbal redirection or seat reassignment, it is the Driver s responsibility to issue a Bus Conduct Report. The consequences associated with each Bus Conduct Report issued to a student depends on the maturity level of the student, the severity of the student s behavior, and the number of previous behavior concerns a student has compiled during the same school year. Each behavior classification is further given a demerit value that is used to help determine consequences when a student is issued more than one Bus Conduct Report from different severity classifications and different occurrence levels. It is understood that students who that are suspended from bus privileges are suspended from all school buses and activity trips. Students receiving Bus Conduct Reports during the school year will be held accountable for all previously issued Bus Conduct Reports received during the same school year. At the start of each new school year, all student s bus behavior records are reset to 0 demerits. While a student s bus behavior record does not follow them into the new school year, any disciplinary consequence from the previous year that has not been fully remediated is considered to remain in affect. The following is a description of student misbehavior associated with bus service and the established consequences associated with the behavior. Please note that any incident involving a student s possible suspension from school will be referred to the child s Building Principal. Student Behavior Descriptions and Consequences: Behavior Classification I: Use of inappropriate language/gestures/subject matter that is not directed at a specific individual or group of individuals. Throwing of objects in or out of the bus that are nuisance related and cannot cause personal injury or property damage (i.e. crumpled piece of paper or knitted stocking cap), excessive trash in assigned seating area. Improper sitting (not sitting on pockets), body turned toward rear of vehicle, body in aisle, less than 1 foot on floor at any given time, not sitting in assigned seat or area, standing before vehicle is fully stopped. Causing a general disruption including being loud, disorderly, excessively animated, or late to the bus stop. Inappropriate bodily contact including horseplay, public display of affection, touching or handling of another s property without permission, extending any part of body outside the bus window. 4

5 Consequences for Behavior Classification I 1 st Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact Bus Conduct Report /Parent Contact/Verbal Apology Consequences for Behavior Classification I 2 nd Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 1 student day/verbal Apology Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 5 student Consequences for Behavior Classification I 3 rd Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 5 student Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 20 student Consequences for Behavior Classification I 4 th Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 20 student Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 45 student Consequences for Behavior Classification I 5 th Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 90 student Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 180 student Behavior Classification II: 5

6 Use of inappropriate language/gestures/subject matter that is directed at a specific student or group of students including sexual harassment, deception, and encouraging others to be disruptive. Throwing of objects in or out of the bus that can cause personal injury or property damage (i.e. student backpack or apple). Walking on bus, crawling on bus floor, or changing seats while vehicle is in motion. Causing a significant disruption to bus service including yelling, blocking the bus, moving name tags without approval, defacing or altering the vehicle, getting off bus at unauthorized stop. Significant or extreme horseplay. Inappropriate exposure of undergarments or other display of provocative materials. Consequences for Behavior Classification II 1 st Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 1 student day/verbal Apology Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 5 student Consequences for Behavior Classification II 2 nd Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 5 student Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 20 student Consequences for Behavior Classification II 3 rd Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 20 student Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 45 student Consequences for Behavior Classification II 4 th Offense 6

7 K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 90 student Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 180 student Behavior Classification III: Use of inappropriate language/gestures/subject matter that demonstrates disrespect or defiance toward the Bus Driver or other school official Throwing of objects in or out of the bus that are intended to cause injury or damage or result in injury or damage Vandalism of bus or any intentional activation of busses emergency exits and/or locks Possession of a knife or similar bladed device or weapon Violence directed toward another student or group of students Possession of Tobacco, Alcohol, Illegal Drug, or other Controlled Substance Stealing Inappropriate exposure of private body areas Consequences for Behavior Classification III 1 st Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 5 student Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 20 student /Building Principal Referral/Referral to Law Enforcement Consequences for Behavior Classification III 2 nd Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 20 student / Building Principal Referral Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 45 student /Building/Principal Referral Consequences for Behavior Classification III 3 rd Offense 7

8 K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 90 student /Building Principal Referral Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 180 student /Building Principal Referral Behavior Classification IV: Physical Violence toward the Bus Driver or other School Official Possession of a firearm or explosive device Use of a knife or similar bladed device or weapon to intimidate or threaten others Use of Tobacco, Alcohol, Illegal Drug, or other Controlled Substance Consequences for Behavior Classification IV 1 st Offense K Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 90 student /Building Principal Referral/Referral to Law Enforcement Bus Conduct Report/Parent Contact/Bus Suspension up to 180 student Building Principal Referral/Referral to Law Enforcement Once a student has received more than demerit points, the student and a parent/guardian are both required to complete a mandatory 60 minute Bus Familiarization Class. Bus Familiarization Classes are scheduled on the last student Monday of each month at the District s Transportation Facility. The classes are scheduled to start SHARPLY at 6:30pm and end before 7:30pm. Families who are scheduled for the class will be notified via certified mail. Families with students who receive more than demerit points are required to attend at least a mandatory 90 minute Bus Familiarization Classes including the completion of an exam at the end of the class. The exam must be completed with a minimum average score of 75% or higher. Families with students who receive more than demerit points are required to attend at least 1 mandatory 120 minute Bus Familiarization Classes including an additional co. The exams must be completed with a minimum average score of 85% or higher. Those that arrive to class late or who have not made other arrangements with the District s Transportation Supervisor for an excused absence will be responsible to provide alternative transportation until they are able to attend a later class. Transportation Grievance Procedure: Any student parent/guardian who feels that their child has been treated unfairly is encouraged to discuss their concern directly with the bus driver. If concerns continue after talking directly with your child s bus driver, 8

9 please call the District s Transportation Supervisor to schedule a review. Parents who disagree to the decision of the District s Transportation Supervisor are asked to schedule a meeting with their child s Principal. Summary: In summary, The Belgrade School District s Department of Student Transportation strives to provide your child with a safe, responsible and respectful bus experience. Your support is essential if we are to continue providing the highest level of customer service possible. Please do your part by familiarizing yourself and your child with the rules and student behavior expectations established for eligibility. If you have questions regarding your child s transportation needs, please call us at