3541 School Bus Transportation

Policies

Middletown Public Schools                                                                        No. 3541

School Bus Transportation

School Bus Transportation

Bus transportation is available, as required, for students attending the Middletown  Public Schools. Schedules, which list the school, the bus number and stops, approved by the  police department, are published in the local newspapers prior to the start of the new school  year. Copies of the schedule are available at the Superintendent’s Office in Oliphant School.

Students who ride the school bus must understand that proper behavior is expected at all  times. Bus transportation will be withdrawn from students who fail to observe the prescribed  rules and regulations, herein listed, or who threaten the health or safety of other students or are  discipline problems on the bus.

1. The driver is in full charge of the bus, monitors and students. Students must obey the driver  and monitor promptly.

2. Students shall ride their regularly assigned bus at all times. They will board and leave the  bus at their assigned stops unless permission has been granted by the appropriate school  authorities to do otherwise.

3. Each pupil may be assigned a seat by the School Principal or his/her designee and/or the  driver or monitor.

4. Outside of ordinary conversation, classroom conduct must be observed. Abusive language,  obscene gestures or fighting will not be tolerated.

5. Students are to assist in keeping the bus clean by keeping their wastepaper or other refuse  off the floor. Students must also refrain from throwing refuse out of the windows. To help  keep the bus clean, no food or drink is to be consumed on the bus.

6. No person shall smoke, light matches or light cigarette lighters on any school bus or at any  school bus stop.

7. No person shall have possession of, consume, or be under the influence of alcoholic  beverages or illegal drugs on any school bus or at any school bus stop.

8. No pupil shall, at any time, extend his/her head, hands or arms out of the window, whether  the school bus is in motion or standing still.

9. Students must have nothing in their possession that may cause injury to others.

10. Each pupil must keep his/her books and personal belongings out of the aisle.

11. No one other than the driver shall sit in the driver’s seat. No one shall be located to the  immediate left or right of the door.

12. Students are to remain seated while the bus is in motion and are not to get on or off the bus  until it has come to a full stop.

13. Students must leave the bus in an orderly manner. They must not cross the road until given  permission by the school bus driver. When boarding or leaving the bus, students should be  in view of the driver at all times.

14. Students must cross the road at least ten (10) feet in front of the school bus and never behind it.

15. Students must not stand or play in the roadway while waiting for the bus. Students should  leave home early enough to arrive at the bus stop before the bus is due.

16. Self-discipline will be exercised by students at the bus loading area. Students will refrain  from pushing and shoving other students.

17. Students walking to and from bus loading areas should use sidewalks where available.

18. In the event of an emergency, emergency exit procedures, as established by the emergency  exit drills, will be followed.

19. Students should never chase after any item that has fallen under or in front of any school  bus. Immediately notify the bus driver, monitor or teacher.

20. Parents of students causing damage to school buses will be held responsible for full  statutory reimbursement. Parents will be afforded the opportunity to make restitution within ten (10) school days, after which a complaint will be filed in accordance with the  General Laws of the State of Rhode Island.

21. No student shall throw anything at or within a school bus.

22. Students must not, in any way, interfere with the safe operation of the school bus.

23. Students in grades 4 through 8 will be seated by grade level, oldest in the back.

24. No high school student shall be allowed to ride on a K-8 bus.

25. All parents must sign the Student Transportation Policy Signature Form (See Appendix A), stating they have read sections I and II of this policy. Signed policy will be placed in the student's file and does not need to be signed annually.

1. School bus transportation is an extension of the school system. A student’s misconduct at a  bus stop or on a bus will be sufficient reason to discontinue providing bus transportation to  the student involved.

2. Violations of the Student Bus Code shall be reported to the Bus Company Manager, and  shall in turn be reported to the appropriate Building Principal on standard form. (see  Appendix B – Bus Conduct Report)

3. The Building Principal or his/her designee shall investigate the violation and, if  substantiated, the Principal will proceed as stated in the Violation Section of this policy.

4. Due process will be followed at all levels, including the right of appeal to the next level of  authority.

5. Serious or extreme offenses of misconduct which endangers others on a bus may result in  immediate suspension of bussing.

6. Principals shall maintain an independent administrative file of all actions dealing with  disciplinary suspensions or warnings regarding transportation.

7. Principals will inform the person filing the report of such violation as to the action taken on  the report.

VIOLATION SECTION

FIRST VIOLATION – ALL STUDENTS K-12

The student shall be given a verbal warning for a first offense. If the violation is deemed  to be one of a serious nature, one or more of the penalties listed in this section may be  administered.

SECOND VIOLATION – GRADE K-8 STUDENTS

A letter will be sent home to parents and possible disciplinary action determined by the principal or his/her designee.

SECOND VIOLATION – GRADE 9-12 STUDENTS

Student suspended from transportation for five school days and conference with parents.  Letter to parent and one or more of the penalties listed herein if the violation is determined to be  a serious offense.

THIRD VIOLATION – GRADE K-8 STUDENTS

Mandatory parent conference and possible temporary suspension or termination of bus  services.

THIRD VIOLATION – GRADE 9-12 STUDENTS

Suspension of transportation and letter to parent.

FOURTH VIOLATION – GRADE K-8 STUDENTS

Termination of bus services for the remainder of the school year.

Students walking to and from school must walk on the left side of the street, utilize  sidewalks where available, and cross at designated crosswalks and intersections. Children may ride bicycles to and from school only if parents expressly permit them to  do so. Each bicycle owner should attach and use a lock, as the school is not responsible for any  loss. All bicycle safety rules should be followed.

School bus safety is everyone’s responsibility. Violations of school bus policy or motor  vehicle laws and unsafe conditions should be reported to the proper authority. If you have  questions concerning school bus policy or safety, contact your child’s Building Principal.

In conformity with the policy established by the Middletown School Committee, the  Middletown Public Schools established the following guidelines for students walking to and  from school. Nothing in these regulations preclude the parent’s right either to transport their  children to or from school. Further, these regulations do not infringe on the right of the  Middletown Public Schools to suspend or revoke the riding privilege of any student or to make  adjustments as deemed necessary.

KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

Kindergarten students will be afforded transportation from the nearest safe and  convenient point to their home to the kindergarten site and similar return.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Students will be afforded transportation from a bus stop within one (1) mile of  home to the approved school of their attendance when:

1. The walking distance to the bus stop or school exceeds one (1) mile.

2. Reasonable transportation or prescribed walking routes or the sum of both  shall not exceed one hour each way from home to school or returning.

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

Students will be afforded transportation from a bus stop within one (1) mile of  home to the approved school of their attendance when:

1. The walking distance to the school exceeds one and one quarter (1 ¼) miles.

2. Reasonable transportation or prescribed walking routes or the sum of both  shall not exceed one (1) hour each way from home to school or returning.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Students will be afforded transportation from a bus stop within one (1) mile of  home to the approved school of their attendance when:

1. The walking distance to the school exceeds one and one half (1 ½) miles.

2. Reasonable transportation or prescribed walking routes or the sum of both  shall not exceed one (1) hour each way from home to school or returning.

HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

All handicapped students so designated by the Middletown Public Schools shall  be provided bus transportation to a school designated by the School Committee  without consideration of the distance the student resides from the school.

1. Any resident under twenty one (21) years of age who is not a high school or vocational  school graduate and who is attending the Area Vocational School shall be eligible for  transportation.

2. A student placed by the Middletown School Department for special education reasons in  either an approved public or private educational setting outside of Middletown shall be  provided the necessary transportation.

3. Students living in Middletown and attending regional private schools approved by the  Middletown School Department will be provided for under Rhode Island Law.

1. The parent/guardian of any student attending another school out-of-district by special  request is responsible for that student’s transportation to and from school and during any  emergency situations.

1. Bus stops shall be established so as to require walking distances or time in conformance with  the provisions above.

2. Kindergarten children’s bus stops are to be designated within sight of parents’ properties  whenever possible unless they are assigned to a bus stop with a student or students in any of  grades one through four. A parent or designee must wait with the student for pick-up and  return. Children will be returned to school on a homeward bound trip if the student is not  met.

3. Special Education transportation will be provided for students per their Individual  Education Plan.

4. Bus stops will not be designated on dead-end streets unless the walking route along said  street is determined to meet special conditions as listed below or exceeds the walking  distances as set forth in these regulations or if the placement of a bus stop at the intersecting  through-street results in a special condition.

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of these regulations, no bus stop shall be designated on a  dead-end street if the following conditions exist:

a. The circumference of an existing cul-de-sac does not permit the assigned bus to turn  around without backing up; and

b. Egress of the assigned bus from the dead-end street onto an intersecting through street  does not meet the line of sight requirements.

c. Unpaved roads, private roads, roads with unusual grade, and roads with persistent  standing water.

6. Requests for bus stop changes, for convenience sake, cannot be accommodated.

7. All bus stops and bus stop changes must be approved by the Chief of Police.

IX. SELECTION OF SCHOOL BUS STOPS AND ROUTES

The point at which a school bus stops to board or discharge passengers will be selected  only after careful study.

BUS STOPS

1. The selection of safe waiting, loading and unloading locations for all riders must be given  the highest priority when bus stop locations are planned. Moreover, a definite routine will  be established as a habitual procedure by the bus driver when making stops. Every aspect  of safety should be given consideration, including anything that might constitute a hazard  for the bus, the passengers or other traffic. All bus stops that are located near a traffic  control device are to be 50’ prior to or after such a device.

2. Designated bus stops for loading and unloading will be examined each year for safety,  efficiency and economy. School bus routes and stops must be checked each year by the  Middletown Police Department for possible safety hazards. New visual obstructions or  excessive traffic congestion of recent origin may create hazards at locations previously  considered safe stops.

3. The most important single criterion for a safe bus stop location is visibility. The school bus  must be visible to approaching and following vehicles, and the children waiting for the bus  should be visible to all drivers in the immediate area.

a. Bus stops should be planned with the safety of the elementary school rider in mind. The  maturity level and judgement of the very young may not be sufficient to cope with traffic  movement.

b. The physical characteristics of each bus stop will be given attention. Hills, curves and  any other visibility limitations may impair the recognition of the school bus by other  vehicle operators and pose as critical elements for collision. The bus driver should be  comfortable in the stopped position at the selected bus stop location, confident that the  bus is observed by other drivers.

c. The bus stop should be at a location where students can wait away from dangerous  traffic. Bus stops that must be located along high volume or high speed roads will  require special planning. Residential driveways may, at times, provide a safe waiting  point along such routes.

d. Loading and unloading should be accomplished at regularly assigned bus stops.

BUS ROUTES

Left turn frequency in high volume or high speed traffic will expose the bus to undue  hazard and will increase collision potential and will be taken into consideration when planning  bus routes.

Riders should not be required to cross multiple lane roadways to board the school bus or  to reach their homes when leaving the school bus. Arrangements should be made to pick up  and discharge riders on the residence side of such roadways whenever possible. If this is not  possible, students should wait on the resident side of the street until the school bus arrives and  traffic is stopped in compliance with the activation of the flashing red lights on the school bus.

Riders will not be required to cross the following roadways to board the bus or to reach  home when leaving the school bus:

West Main Road

East Main Road

Aquidneck Avenue

Valley Road

Bus stops should be located at the entrance to mobile home parks and small subdivisions  with unusual traffic patterns. The roadway system in such locations is usually inadequate to  permit the safe movement of school buses.

Bus stop locations which are undesirable and unsafe include:

High snow bank areas

Railroad crossings

Stops which have deep ditches on either side

Narrow roads

Areas of traffic congestion

High accident frequency locations

Low visibility areas with hills and curves

Locations which require excessive turnarounds

Locations which require many riders to cross the roads

Bus drivers may recognize unsafe features at a bus stop. Drivers are urged to examine  stops regularly and to report new problems or hazards to their supervisor. The bus should not be driven beyond the designated stop where students are waiting. While control of other motorists cannot be guaranteed at a designated stop, the bus  driver should be certain that adequate warning has been provided, that the vehicle position is  correct and all legal requirements have been met for stopping the bus to load or unload riders. Drivers should be alert for preschool children and pets waiting at bus stops to meet  disembarking passengers. Young children are prone to ignore danger and thus become a  potential hazard at school bus stops. Small children accompanied by family pets create an even  greater hazard in these situations.

Bus drivers and riders should be instructed in their responsibilities at a bus stop when an  unusual circumstance occurs. The approach of an emergency vehicle or a disabled bus are  examples of such circumstances. Emergency evacuation drills from the bus should be familiar  experiences for all bus riders.

Students who live within the designated walking distance and whose route meets the  special conditions listed within this section shall be provided school accommodations, as listed  below.

Special Conditions:

Any street, roadway or highway that does not have a sidewalk or raised area and upon  which a student walks to and from school or to or from a designated bus stop shall be  considered to have a special condition if the following exist:

1. For elementary students, the absence of a pedestrian crossing light or crossing guard where  there is a three-way intersection and at street crossings where there are no stop signs or  crossing guards and the average traffic count during the time that the children are walking  to or from school exceeds 120 vehicles per hour.

2. For secondary students, the absence of a traffic light, stop sign or crossing guard where  streets intersect and have a traffic count which exceeds 240 vehicles per hour during the time  that the children are walking to and from school.

3. Any street, road or highway with speed limits in excess of forty miles per hour which do not  have pedestrian crossing lights or crossing guards or other safety provisions at points where  children must cross in going to and from school.

4. The presence of any nuisance, such as sewer or road construction, loading zones where  delivery trucks are permitted to park on walkways, commercial entrances and exits where  cars are crossing walking areas at speeds in excess of 15 miles per hour in absence of  pedestrian crossing light, crossing guard or traffic signal, where such nuisance presents  difficulties or problems the solutions of which is beyond the ordinary capability of a child of  any given age or attainment.

5. The presence of a visual obstruction caused by hill, curve, structure outcropping, land form,  planting or some other obscuring object which may be safely negotiated by vehicles only at  speeds under fifteen miles per hour.

6. A roadway available to vehicles, when plowed free of snow accumulation, has a minimum  width of less than twenty feet.

7. A student enrolled in grades K through 12 is required to walk to and from school at any time  prior to one half hour before sunrise or after one half hour after sunset as the result of the  opening and closing of the regular school day.

1. Parents, guardians, students at majority and any agent or officer whose duty it is to compel  the observance of the laws concerning transportation may appeal.

2. The route of appeal shall be first to the Building Principal, second to the Bus Manager, third  to the Director of Student Services and finally to the Superintendent of Schools.

The decision to create a walk route, bus stop or bus route rests with the Superintendent  of Schools and shall be based on a student’s place of residence and, in part, on special  conditions as discussed above and also upon types of intersections, number of vehicles per  hour, speed limits, traffic control devices, road or sewer construction, commercial traffic, line of  sight, width of street, time of day and similar conditions in other parts of town as more fully  described below.

No accommodations, as outlined in this policy, will be provided to any location other  than a student’s residence unless the Superintendent of Schools determines that such  accommodations will not interfere with the timely and efficient operation of the existing routes.

The Middletown Public Schools will provide school bus monitors on all school bound  and homebound routes for students in grades K through 5. All monitors will be provided

training prior to starting work on school busses approved by the Superintendent and in  conformity with existing State statutes, but will include as a minimum:

1. Crossing guard procedure

2. Loading and unloading procedure

3. Primary first aid

4. Fire safety

5. Basic understanding of Child Development

6. School Department Policy

The Middletown Public Schools will apply for an emergency school bus monitor variance to  be used only when monitors or monitor substitutes are not available.

Each Building Principal will supply the Bus Manager with a list of riders for each bus  assigned to carry students to or from his/her assigned building. This list should be updated  periodically by the Building Principal and forwarded to the Bus Manager for distribution to  drivers.

Bus schedules for all students will be developed by the contractor as provided in the  existing agreement between the contractor and the Middletown School Committee and in  conformity with the Middletown School Committee Policy on Transportation and Rhode Island  State Law.

Bus schedules will be published annually prior to the opening of school in the Newport  Daily News and such information will be available in each Building Principal’s office for  student or parent information.

From time to time, approved bus schedule changes are necessary. These changes will be  communicated to the affected students or their parents and kept on file in the Principal’s Office  for reference.

While it is not the intent of the Middletown Public Schools to discontinue routes or  absolve themselves from the responsibility to transport students, it is possible that these  circumstances might arise. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the parent to determine  whether their child should or should not attend school and to provide for their safe  transportation to and from school.

Whenever route changes are necessary, every effort must be made to make the affected  students and their parents aware of such changes. The process for this change will be: 1. Approval of Middletown Police Chief

2. Approval of Superintendent of Schools

3. Notification of parents through appropriate means which might include: a. Communication from Building Principal or school

b. Notice published in *Newport Daily News *

c. Public Service Notice on *WADK *

Elimination of bus routes will be approved by the School Committee.

The Middletown Public Schools will develop and provide a curriculum encompassing  bus safety approved for all students grades K-12.

Reviewed by School Committee – March 10, 1988

Approved by Superintendent – March 10, 1988

Revised and Approved – December 16, 1999

Revised and Approved – July 28, 2009

Review and Approved - January 22, 2026

3 Year Review Due - January 2029