Transportation Guidelines

Transportation for students shall be provided in accordance with district policy and the following guidelines.
 
The Board shall purchase, equip, and maintain vehicles and contract for school bus services for the transportation of students to and from school at regularly scheduled hours and for the transportation of students on field trips and athletic trips. The Board may also set maximum walking distances for elementary and secondary students.
 
The Board will also provide transportation for students living within the limits of this policy when the walking conditions to the school are found to be hazardous by either the Department of Transportation or the Board itself.
 
The school bus driver shall be responsible for the discipline of students while they are being transported to or from school. A student may be suspended from bus transportation by the principal for disciplinary reasons, in which case the parents are responsible for the pupil’s transportation.
 
The Superintendent shall promulgate rules to govern the number of chaperones to accompany students in connection with school related activities; and he/she or his/her designee shall:
1. Prepare a map of the district indicating each bus stop and bus route or prepare a schedule of bus stops and an itinerary of bus routes to be used in conjunction with a district map.
2. Prepare a map indicating walking distance limits, based on the Board’s guidelines.
3. Determine the measuring points from school to home for walking distance limits, based on the Board’s guidelines.
4. Maintain such records and make such reports regarding school transportation as are required by the State Board of Education.
5. Promulgate rules governing student conduct during transport to and from school; such rules shall be binding on all students transported by the Board.
 
Determination of elementary/secondary status:
Elementary students – grades K-5
Secondary students – grades 6-12
 
Mileage entitlement:
Elementary students – over one (1) mile
Secondary students – over one and one-half (1-1/2) miles
 
Distance determination:
Distances from a particularly school to the mileage boundary are measured from the two (2) corners of the property that border the main entrance along with the most direct non-hazardous public walking route.
For all local schools, if the measurement of the mileage boundary falls within a particular block then that entire block will receive transportation.
 
Determination of walking distance to a bus stop:
Elementary students – three-tenths (3/10) of a mile
Secondary students – five-tenths (5/10) of a mile
 
Hazardous routes PENNDOT:
State defined hazardous routes and intersections encompass grades K-12 unless otherwise stated.
 
Number of students riding a bus:
K-5 not to exceed 72 passengers
6-8 not to exceed 65 passengers
9-12 not to exceed 55 passengers
 
Late enrollment:
August 10 of each year is the cutoff for student enrollment. Newly enrolled students will use existing bus stops until the second week of school. At this time changes will begin to be implemented (bus stops will be revised or added as necessary).
 
Eligibility for Transportation:
The guidelines for determining student eligibility for transportation shall be based on the following:
 
1.  A computer generated Haverford Township street map in accordance with Pennoni Associate’s proposal dated November 7, 1990, will be produced utilizing the 7.5 minute Lansdowne and Norristown Quadrangle maps, which have been mapped, edited and published by the United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey (USGS).
 
2.  The boundary locations of walking distances to and from elementary schools will be defined at 1.00 miles plus or minus 3% of error utilizing the shortest, nonhazardous public walking routes.
 
3.  The boundary locations of walking distances to and from secondary schools will be defined at 1.50 miles plus or minus 3% of error utilizing the shortest, nonhazardous public walking routes.