1. Parents and Students
  2. Services
  3. Bus Transportation
  4. School Bus Safety

School Bus Safety

  1. Stay out of THE DANGER ZONE!
  2. Follow the driver's instructions.
  3. Stay seated.
  4. Keep your hands, feet, body, and objects to yourself.
  5. Talk in a classroom voice.
  6. No swearing, rude gestures, cruel teasing, or name calling.  (Including but not limited to sexually-oriented verbal "kidding," abuse, or harassment).
  7. Carrying, bringing, using, or possessing a dangerous weapon(s) in any school vehicle is prohibited.  (Board Policy JICI)
  8. "Contraband," including but not limited to drugs, alcoholic beverages, guns, knives, other weapons, and incendiary devices are prohibited.  (Board Policy JIH)
  9. No live animals of any kind allowed on the bus.
  10. Skateboards, roller blades, and scooters (any kind) are NOT permitted.

Eligible Riders

A bus ride to and from school is provided if the home address is more than:

  • One and a half miles for high school and middle school students.
  • One mile for elementary students.

State regulation requires that no one except school personnel and school children regularly assigned to a school transportation vehicle for a particular route and schedule may ride a school bus, unless she/he has received prior authorization from the appropriate school administrator and/or the Transportation Department. The Transportation Department will grant authorization to:

  • Any parent, provided space is available.
  • Any student going home with a friend, provided the student presents a note signed by a parent to an administrator at their school, who will then approve it and the note will be given to the busdriver, and provided space is available.
  • Any optionally enrolled student, who has submitted the "Space Available" form to the Transportation Department and received approval.  And the student does not present a discipline problem. (The "Space Available" form can be accessed by clicking on the link provided on this website or at any LPS school and from the Transportation Service Center)
  • Elementary students who use day care centers or sitters before and after school if an established stop is within the attendance boundary of the home school, and is more than one mile from the school.

Permission to Ride a Different Bus

If your child will ride home with a friend or on a different bus, please send a note granting your permission so that she/he can give it to an administrator at their school, who will approve the note which will then be given to the bus driver. This helps us discourage students from riding a bus after school to a destination that you have not approved.

Services

Illegal Carry-Ons

State regulation states that school buses shall not transport any items, material, or equipment that might endanger occupants of the bus. These include:

  • weapons or facsimiles (includes water/toy guns, knives, etc…)
  • drugs, alcohol, tobacco products and all related paraphernalia (pipes, vape pens, etc…)
  • glass bottles or jars
  • chemicals
  • flammable liquids/aerosol cans
  • objects with sharp or dangerous edges
  • oversize objects that cannot be secured under the bench seat or held in the student's lap
  • animals other than approved service animals

In addition, any item that could break or produce injury if tossed about inside of the bus shall be properly stored or secured. These include:

  • athletic equipment (special events such as field trips that are planned will have under storage available if needed)
  • musical instruments too large to be held (special events such as field trips that are planned will have under storage available if needed)
  • backpacks (on student’s lap or on the floor at feet)
  • heavy textbooks must remain in backpacks while the bus is in motion
  • science fair projects (if too large, has sharp edges, etc…it may not be transported on the bus)
  • skateboards/scooters (never allowed on a bus, storage is not available on every bus and this is not an educational or school sports item; includes all items of the like)

If a student arrives at the bus stop with any of the items listed above, they may not ride the bus with the item. All illegal items observed will be reported to the police and school administration immediately. Any incidents involving the possession of weapons, facsimiles, and other unsafe items will be reported immediately and may result in the students’ transportation access being denied temporarily or permanently.