Transportation

No. A driver is only permitted to drop students off at the designated stop indicated on their route sheet. Student school bus rosters need to remain consistent for the safety of all.

No. A driver is only permitted to drop students off at the designated stop indicated on their route sheet. Student school bus rosters need to remain consistent for the safety of all.

Contact your child’s school and give them the change of address information, the school will be able to determine if child qualifies for transportation with new address. If the child qualifies, school will fill out transportation request. The change may take 3-5 business days to route.

No, the transportation service determines the location of stops and designs the routes according to the Board’s policies and procedures. The bus drivers are required to respect the route, stops, and schedule established by the Board.

Your child should arrive at the stop at least five minutes before the regular arrival time of the bus. If there is a substitute driver, the times may not be absolutely consistent with the regular times. Buses can encounter traffic delays, weather conditions, roads can be blocked, a driver may be ill or have emergencies, etc. which may result in a late bus. If the wait becomes extreme (approximately 15 minutes), and you have not received an automated phone message please call your child’s school.

We ask students to arrive at their assigned bus stop at least five minutes prior to pick up time so that they are ready and waiting for the bus to arrive. This helps to ensure a faster loading time. It also ensures that they are there in case the time on their clock or watch differs slightly from the time for the driver.

Bus routes are planned to run on a fairly set schedule. Occasionally there could be traffic delays for various reasons. Sometimes children are not ready and waiting at earlier bus stops, which can cause the bus to run behind schedule on all future stops. This is another reason why we ask all children to be ready and waiting at their bus stops so we can minimize delays.

All District 6 buses operate on a comprehensive schedule. This helps to ensure that the system operates safely and efficiently, while working to deliver students to school on time. Because of the number of students needing transportation, and to ensure effective scheduling, the overall bus schedules cannot be adjusted to accommodate an individual request.

No, it is the parent’s responsibility to have the student at the designated bus stop waiting for the bus.

Buses cannot return for students who missed the bus. Please be sure your child arrives at the designated bus stop at least five minutes ahead of schedule.

At most schools, the drivers receive a signal from school staff when they can depart after a sufficient time has been allowed for students to exit the school to board the buses. Sometimes students are held up at school for unforeseen reasons and miss their school bus. Once buses depart the school, if the Transportation Department is notified that a child is left behind, every effort will be made to return for the student. However, if the bus is no longer in the proximity of the school the driver will not be able to return and parents will be responsible for transporting back home.

Bus stops are placed at centralized locations that can be safely accessed by a significant number of students to minimize the time length and mileage of the run. If you have concerns about your child’s safety you are encouraged to accompany your child to the bus stop or arrange a neighborhood buddy to walk with your child.

Bus stops are placed to allow the buses easy access and entrance through neighborhoods while keeping safety a priority. In addition, adding bus stops causes further delays on our bus routes and extends the student’s ride time. This means that bus routes would have to start earlier in the morning to arrive to school on time. Similarly, in the afternoon it would mean students arrive home later.

The bus driver may assign seats as he/she feels necessary to maintain order and safety on the bus.

If there is an issue or a concern on the bus or with a bus driver, route, behavior, or general questions, please contact the school office to report any issue with regard to behavior on the bus.

Zion Elementary District 6 has a policy that specifically prohibits bullying at school, during school events, field trips, and on a school bus. The bus driver’s main focus must be on operating the school bus safely. As a result, the majority of the driver’s attention is focused on the road and traffic conditions, so he/she may not see or hear inappropriate behavior among the students on the bus when it occurs. Students who engage in bullying or harassing behaviors are subject to disciplinary action. Please report any problems to your child’s school principal, appropriate steps may be taken.

Yes. Bus drivers report problems to the student’s school. Administrators investigate and follow progressive disciplinary action as needed. Disciplinary actions may result in suspension from bus services, parent/guardian is responsible for transporting their child to school during the suspension.

The school bus driver is responsible for the safe operation of the bus. He/she should receive the same level of respect afforded to a classroom teacher, assistant, or other school employee. When necessary, drivers may correct a student. In most cases, that resolves the problem. If the misconduct continues, the driver may complete a conduct report to notify the school of the event for further review, if appropriate, disciplinary action.

A student bus conduct report is completed by the bus driver or bus aide and used to report a student who violated the safety rules on the bus that may cause harm to the student, to another student, or the public. This includes actions that distract the bus driver’s attention from the roadway. If the student conduct report is completed for a student, the school staff members will contact the student’s family if they need to speak to the parent or guardian as part of the disciplinary steps taken to resolve the problem.

No. It is illegal for any unauthorized individual to stop or board a school bus. Please do not attempt to board a school bus along the route or at school. The safety of the children is always our priority.

Parents and/or an authorized person are required to accompany a PreK aged student at the bus stop. A bus driver may not release a PreK aged child form the bus unless this person is present at the bus stop. All other students, aged K-8, may wait for the bus and be discharged from the bus without the presence of an adult and/or authorized responsible party.

Parents may call child’s school, please provide with a full description of the item. Often drivers are not able to inspect buses while they are on the road and will check for lost items at their next assignment. Electronic devices such as cell phones, tables, iPod’s, and games are very popular, the recovery rate is very low. We recommend that students store all personal items in a secure place such as their backpack while traveling to and from school.