Code: EEA
Adopted: 11/27/06
Revised: 10/22/07
Student Transportation Services
School transportation services will be provided for students living within specified attendance boundaries to and from school. Transportation will be provided for homeless students to and from the student’s school of origin1 as required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA). These services shall be provided throughout the regularly scheduled year and during the regular school day as determined by the Board.
Elementary students grades K-5 who live more than one mile from school will be transported. Secondary students grades 6-12 who live more than one and one-half miles from school will be transported. Mileage exceptions for health, safety or disability will be made in accordance with the district’s approved supplemental plan.
Miles from school will be determined by the transportation supervisor.
Transportation will be provided to a student of a school receiving Title I funds to attend a district school which is out of the student’s attendance area because his/her home school has been identified as in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring. Such transfers will be permitted and transportation provided only to a safe school selected by the superintendent or designee that has not been identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring. The obligation of the district to provide for transportation will terminate at the end of the school year if the school from which the student transferred is no longer in school improvement.
In the event all other district schools a student may transfer to have also been identified as in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring or there is no other district school to which the student may transfer2, the district shall, to the extent practicable, establish a cooperative agreement with other districts in the area for a transfer. Transportation for students who transfer for such purposes will be provided for in accordance with the agreement.3
The district may also provide transportation using federal funds4 or through cooperative agreements with local victims assistance units for a student to attend a safe district school5 out of the student’s attendance area for any student who is a victim of a violent criminal offense occurring in or on the grounds of the school the student attends or the student attends a school identified as persistently dangerous.
Transportation provided will, to the extent possible, be to a school that is making adequate yearly progress and that has not been identified as in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring. If there are no other schools within the district a student may transfer to, the district may establish a cooperative agreement with other districts in the area for a transfer. Transportation for students who transfer for such purposes will be provided in accordance with the agreement.
Students attending any private, parochial or public charter school under the compulsory school attendance laws will, where the private, parochial or public charter school is along or near the bus route, be provided equally the riding privileges given to public school students.
A seat that fully supports each student will be provided at all times. A child four or five years of age or who weighs between 40 and 60 pounds, regardless of age, shall be properly secured with a child safety system that meets the minimum standards and specification requirements of law. A district vehicle over 10,000 pounds or equipped with a lap belt only is exempt from child safety system requirements. Seating capacity will be in compliance with vehicle design and student grade levels.
School buses carrying students will be considered extensions of the school experience. All students using school transportation will abide by the code of conduct posted in each school bus or school activity vehicle. Violations of such code, as well as other conduct which is improper or which jeopardizes the safety of self or others, will be reported by the school bus vehicle driver to building supervisor. Violators may be denied use of transportation for a period of time as deemed proper by the building principal and/or transportation supervisor.
The building principal or designee shall ensure transportation officials and drivers receive notification of students having special medical or behavioral protocols identified in student records.
Appropriate training related to specific protocols, including confidentiality requirements, will be provided to drivers.
The school bus vehicle driver will be responsible for the school bus vehicle at all times from departure until return. The driver will not participate in any activities that might impair his/her driving abilities.
The district will comply with all state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to school bus transportation.
END OF POLICY
Legal Reference(s):
ORS 327.006
ORS 327.033
ORS 327.043
ORS 332.405
ORS 332.415
ORS 339.240 - 339.250
ORS 343.155 - 343.246
ORS 343.533
ORS 811.210
ORS 815.055
ORS 815.080
ORS 820.100 - 820.190
OAR 581-021-0050 to -0075
OAR 581-022-1530
OAR 581-023-0040
OAR 581-053-0002 to -0015
OAR 735-102-0010
Letter Opinion, Office of the Attorney General (Nov. 22, 1988).
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, P.L. 107-110, Title I, Section 1116 and Title IX, Section 9532.
McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001, P.L. 107-110, 42 U.S.C. Sections 11431-11435.