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5181.1 (R)Guidelines for Student Transportation

The Meriden Board of Education has adopted the following guidelines to govern the eligibility for and use of transportation services by students residing in Meriden.  

A.Definitions

  1. Walking distance as used in these guidelines means the line of measure of a prescribed or authorized pedestrian route between the student’s residence and the school to which he/she is assigned from a point at the curb, or edge of a public road or highway nearest the student’s residence to a point on a paved walkway within 100 ft. of a school building entrance.
  2. Mile walking distance as used in these guidelines means a reasonable measurement of a route to be traveled extending from a point of measurement to a point of measurement of 5,280 feet, which will be used to determine a student’s eligibility for transportation services.
  3. Walking route as used in these guidelines means a portion of the right of way at least two feet wide, paved or unpaved, usually parallel to the traffic lanes and marked, for example, by curbing, drainage ditch, grass area, or fencing apart from and independent of any white line safety markings along the street pavement.

B.Eligibility for Transportation

  1. Transportation shall be provided for:
  2. Elementary school students (includes preschool and kindergarten) who have a walking distance to their assigned school of more than one (1) mile.
  3. Middle school students who have a walking distance to their assigned school of more than one and a half (1.5) miles.
  4. High school students who have a walking distance to their assigned school of more than two (2) miles.
  5. Transportation shall be provided to students with special needs in accordance with federal and state laws following notification from the Director of Pupil Personnel.

C. Walking RouteA walking route shall be deemed hazardous when the Manager of Transportation determines that any one of the following conditions exists:

  1. For students enrolled in grades PreK-5, the absence of a pedestrian crossing light or a crossing guard where three or more streets intersect, and at street crossings where there are no stop signs or crossing guards;
  2. Any street, road or highway with posted speed limits in excess of forty miles per hour which does not have pedestrian crossing lights or crossing guards or other safety provisions at points where students must cross in going to and from school; or
  3. The usual or frequent presence of any nuisance such as open manholes, 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 five   miles per hour.
  4. Any street, road or highway which has no sidewalks or walk areas shall be deemed unduly hazardous when the Manager of Transportation determines that any of the following conditions exists:
  5. A posted speed limits in excess of forty miles per hour where there are no pedestrian crossing lights or crossing guards or other safety provisions at points where students must cross when going to or from school or the bus stop;
  6. The line-of-sight visibility together with posted speed limits does not permit vehicular braking/stopping sufficient to ensure the safety of persons walking along the road; or
  7. A line-of-sight obstruction caused by a hill, curve, structure, outcropping, land form planting, or other obscuring object or structure which may be safely negotiated by a vehicle traveling only at speeds under fifteen miles per hour.
  8. Any walkway or path in an area adjacent and parallel to railroad tracks without a physical barrier along the entire pedestrian route between students and the tracks and any required crossing of railroad tracks which carry moving trains during the hours that students are walking to and from school shall be deemed hazardous unless one of the following conditions exist:
  9. A crossing guard is present; or
  10. An automatic control bar is present at crossings used by children enrolled in grades PreK through 5, or a bar or red flashing signal light is operational when the crossing is used for students in middle or high school.
  11. Any street, road, walkway or path designed as a walking route for students which passes through an area which has a history of aggressive acts or molestation resulting in actual or threatened physical harm or moral degradation during hours when students ordinarily walk to or from school shall be deemed hazardous.
  12. A walking route shall be considered unduly hazardous whenever students enrolled in grades PreK through 8 are required to walk to and from school at any time prior to one-half hour before sunrise or one-half hour after sunset.

D.School Bus Routes

 

  1. School bus routes shall be established by the Manager of Transportation in a manner that provides for the safe and timely arrival of students eligible for transportation services to and from their bus stop to their assigned schools.
  2. Bus stops shall be established primarily on main streets or avenues. Supplemental bus stops may be established on those secondary streets that connect with main thoroughfares.
  3. In order to ensure equitable and efficient service, bus stops shall, when practical, be placed at street intersections.
  4. School buses shall not be routed into condominium residential areas or streets that have cul-de-sacs, or other private roadways.
  5. A student’s bus stop shall be established at a location walkable from the student’s residence, but may not exceed one (1) mile.
  6. Bus stops shall not be established at an individual student’s residence except where required by state and/or federal law.

E.Student Behavior

  1. Students shall conduct themselves on a school bus and at a bus stop in a manner consistent with established standards of conduct.
  2. At the beginning of each school year, a copy of the Code of Behavior for Bus Students (the “Code”) shall be provided to each student eligible for transportation services by the student’s assigned school. Each student and his parent or guardian must submit written acknowledgment of receipt of the Code.
  3. Students eligible for transportation services must present a current bus pass to the bus driver. Failure to produce the bus pass, upon request from the bus driver, may result in denial of transportation services.
  4. Students found in violation of the Code shall be referred to their school principal for appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including suspension of transportation services. (See Board Policy 5110).

F.Parental Responsibility

  1. Parental cooperation is needed to maintain proper conduct of students at bus stops and on school buses.
  2. Parents of preschool students are required to meet school buses when students are discharged. Failure to do so may result in the suspension of transportation services.
  3. Parents of younger children are encouraged to meet buses until confident that their children are capable of safely walking to and from their school bus independently.
  4. The Board of Education shall seek reimbursement of damages to school buses from the parents of children who have been found responsible for acts of vandalism.

Approved April 28, 1981 

Amended November 21, 2017


Previous Policy Number: EE1-R

 

 

Previous Policy Number: EE1-R