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POLICY
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Transportation Administrative Guidelines I. Responsibilities: Under Connecticut General Statutes, it is the responsibility of the Manchester Board of Education to provide for the transportation of children to and from school, within the criteria listed below. A. The Connecticut
Department of Motor Vehicles establishes rules and regulations about
equipment, capacity and operation of buses; and inspects vehicles, which
provide student transportation, services to school. C. The transportation contractor is responsible for providing student transportation within the laws and regulations established by the State of Connecticut, the Manchester Police Department and within the policies established by the Manchester Board of Education as listed below. D. School bus drivers
shall be responsible for the safety of all pupils while they are on
and about the bus. Drivers are required to report to the building principal
and bus company supervisor violations of any rules and regulations concerning
the conduct of pupils on the bus or at bus stops. Drivers are expected
to maintain order among the students in their charge. F. The student is responsible to remain seated during the ride to and from school, to be respectful of others, to not use foul language, to not throw items from the bus and to follow the instructions of the driver. G. The parents and guardians are responsible for the behavior of their children and for working with the school district to make student transportation as safe as possible. II. Definitions: A. "School transportation" means the procedure, program, or fully effective and implemented plan by which a student is conveyed to and /or from school from the student's residence or the bus stop at public expense, whether by use of publicly owned equipment or by contract. Such Transportation shall be over public roads approved by the Town or private roads approved pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-220c. B. "Walking
distance" for elementary school students means the "Walking distance" for middle school and for high school students means the linear measure of a prescribed or authorized pedestrian route between the student's residence and his/her bus stop or school, measured from the center of the curb line or edge of the paved road in front of the student's residence to the designated stop or nearest safe entrance to the school grounds.
Students enrolled in elementary school, one mile Students enrolled in grades 6 through 8, one and one-half miles Students enrolled in grades 9 through 12, two miles Midday kindergarten students, one mile Parents and guardians
are encouraged to walk children to bus stops and monitor behavior until
the students enter the bus. 1. Manchester High
School -nearest safe entrance Southeast-at a point on the west side of Brookfield Street at the intersection of Center Street where the pavement meets Memorial Field. Northeast-at a point where Brookfield meets East Middle Turnpike. Northwest-at a point
where the west driveway meets East Middle West-at a point where Perrott Place meets the driveway to Manchester High School. 2. Bennet Middle
School- (walking distance established at 1.5 miles) At a point where the measurement meets the sidewalk on streets that surround Bennet Middle School. (Wells Street, Vine Street, School Street, and Main Street). 3. lling Middle
School-(walking distance established at 1.5 miles) At a point where the main driveway intersects with East Middle Turnpike. At a point on the north boundary of the property where a walkway intersects with Hollister Street. E. "One mile walking distance" means the reasonable measurement of a route to be traversed, extending from the point of measurement at least 5,280 feet, but not more than 5,380 feet. F. "Hazard" means a thing or condition, as prescribed in these administrative procedures, affecting the safety of students walking to and from school. The Board of Education recognizes the Town's Director of Public Safety for the purposes of making judgments regarding safety. G. "Raised walk or sidewalk" means a portion of the landscaped right-of-way at least three feet wide, usually parallel to the traffic lanes which may be paved or unpaved; and may be distinguished by some elevation above the street pavement level; and may be marked by curbing, drainage ditch, grass area, or fencing, apart from and independent of any white line safety markings along the street pavement. H."Student"
means any individual of school age residing in Manchester and I. "Grade K" means a kindergarten student. J."Elementary Student" means a student in grades K through 5. K. "Middle School Student" means a student in grade 6, 7 or 8. L. "High School Student" means a student in grade 9, 10, 11 or 12. M."Bus Stop" means a geographical location designated by the Manchester Board of Education or school administration where students can safely wait for purposes of boarding or debarking a school bus. III. Guidelines for extending transportation to students for reasons of safety and/or health. The following guidelines are established to assist the administration in making judgements relative to extending transportation privileges to students who must travel to and from school and whose safety and/or health may be affected by requiring such a student to walk. A. Health Considerations 1. The Manchester Public Schools may provide transportation to students who have a disability or illness, which could be aggravated by requiring the student to walk the required distance set forth in the Policy. 2. Each request shall be filed with the Coordinator of School Health. The request shall be accompanied by any medical record, certificate, evaluation, recommendation, etc., deemed sufficient to review the medical status of the Student. 3. The Coordinator of School Health shall notify the Business Office of his/her findings and recommendations within five working days of receipt of all documentation related to the case and previously requested. 4. Appeals For Health
Considerations Appeals resulting from decisions of the Coordinator of School Health shall be heard by the Transportation Committee of the Manchester Board of Education. B. Safety Hazards 1. Manchester Public Schools may provide transportation to students where a hazardous condition exists according to the following standards: (a) street or road having an adjacent or parallel sidewalk or raised walk area shall be deemed hazardous when any one of the following conditions exist: For elementary students, absence of a pedestrian crossing light or crossing guard where three or more streets intersect, and at street crossings where there are no stop signs or crossing guards and the traffic count during the time that children are walking to or from school exceeds 60 vehicles per hour. 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 students must cross while going to or from school. The usual or frequent presence of any nuisance which is potentially dangerous to children including but not limited to open manholes; construction; snow plowed or piled on the walk areas making walkways unusable; 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. (b) Any highway or main artery, which has no adjacent or parallel sidewalks or raised walk area and is used as an accepted or suggested route for non-residential vehicular traffic shall be deemed hazardous for elementary school students. Streets in residential sections in which the use primarily serves the needs of the people living in those areas shall not be considered hazardous unless otherwise determined by the Director of Public Safety of the Town of Manchester. (c) A lake, pond, stream, culvert or waterway may be deemed a hazard in the absence of a fence or other suitable barrier fixed between the student and the water. (d) Any area adjacent
to a roadway, walkway or bridge (e) Any street,
road walkway or path designated as a walking route for school 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 the hours when students ordinarily walk to or from
school shall be deemed hazardous. However, the school administration
may designate alternate walking routes that students should travel. 2. The school administration, in consultation with the Director of Public Safety of the Town of Manchester, may grant an exception to any provision of this guideline where in the judgement of the school administration a unique condition or combination of conditions renders such conditions(s) a hazard. 3. The Business Manager shall be responsible for administering the transportation program for students. 4. Appeals for safety or denial of service: If a parent is dissatisfied with the decision of the Business Manager, the parent may make a written appeal of the decision. Appeals resulting from decisions of the Business Manager shall be considered by the Transportation Committee of the Manchester Board of Education. IV. Transportation for School Choice: To accommodate children selected to participate in the Manchester Elementary Choice Program, Manchester Public Schools offers transportation between Title 1 schools and non-Title 1 schools and vice versa, within the same guidelines that apply to other elementary students. Transportation is offered from a designated stop near the home or day care provider to the Choice school, provided it is one mile or more from the choice school. Pickup and drop-off locations must be the same address. If after being selected for the Choice program, the family moves to another elementary school district that does not meet choice guidelines, transportation will be the responsibility of the parent. Day care providers must be located either in the home or Choice School District for transportation to be provided. V. Transportation for Special Focus at Nathan Hale School To accommodate children
selected to participate in Special Focus, Manchester Public Schools
offers transportation within the guidelines that apply to other elementary
students. VI. Transportation for Elementary Day Care Students Manchester Public Schools will make no judgment whether day care facilities are paid or unpaid arrangements with a neighbor, relative, licensed or unlicensed day care center or home. The day care provider location must be permanent and the same location is required for pickup and drop-off. Transportation for day care purposes does not constitute an endorsement of that facility by Manchester Public Schools. If the student's residence is less than the walking distance to the school, but the day care provider is one mile or more from school, Transportation may be granted on a space available basis. The day care must be located in the school district and more than one mile from the school. Parents or guardians of such student must submit a written request to the office of the Business Manager prior to July 1 for the ensuing school year. Transportation will not be granted if the day care provider location is within the one-mile walking distance to the school and the student's residence is more than one mile to the school. Transportation accommodations to and from Day Care Providers will be under the same policies and guidelines as any other elementary student. No accommodation will be made for day care beyond elementary school. VII. Exceptions to Student Transportation Policy a. Illing Middle
School VIII. Private, Charter Schools, Vocational Technical and Vocational Agricultural School Transportation - Connecticut General Statutes require Manchester Public Schools to transport children, who reside in Manchester, to and from private non-profit schools and certain Vocational-Technical Schools in nearby communities. The guidelines for this transportation are the same as those for public school children of the appropriate grade level. IX. Student
Behavior - Connecticut General Statutes allows school X. Reporting
Safety Complaints b. The Superintendent shall report to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, within ten days of occurrence, any accident involving a motor vehicle and any student pedestrian at any bus stop or immediate vicinity thereof. XI. Miscellaneous Regulations a. The School administration shall establish suitable pickup and drop-off points for those students being transported. b. Buses, with or without students, will not be permitted to enter roads that end in cul-de-sacs that require buses to back up. Motor vehicle regulations prohibit backing up a school bus during the pickup and drop off process. c. Except for School Choice and Project Focus, transportation across school attendance area lines in not permitted. d. Transportation on a space available basis is only offered for elementary day care purposes. e. Manchester Public
Schools reserves the right to use video cameras to monitor behavior
on school transportation vehicles.
10-221c Development of procedures for reporting complaints. 10-280a Transportation for students in non-profit private schools outside school district. 10-281 Transportation for students in non-profit private schools within school district. 14-275a Use of standard school bus required when. 14-275b Transportation of handicapped students. 14-275c Regulations - school buses and motor vehicles used to transport special education students. 14-280 Letters and signals to be concealed when not used in transporting children. Signs on other vehicles.
BUSINESS Transportation Policy It is the responsibility of the Board of Education to provide for the transportation of children to and from school. This responsibility is shared with parents. The Board is charged by the State Department of Education with providing the service and hearings. The State Board of Education provides consultative services and hears appeals. The Motor Vehicle Department establishes rules and regulations about equipment and operation of buses and makes annual inspections. Town government is responsible for town roads. Local police are responsible for crossing protection, physical security and enforcement of traffic regulations. This policy will be used to establish bus stops and walking routes for public and non-public schools within the Town of Manchester. The Manchester Board of Education will not be able to determine specific safety hazards, in advance, for each section of town prior to bus route scheduling. Thus, if citizens question specific areas such as safety, distances, and/or hazards, the Manchester Board of Education will make every reasonable effort to ascertain the specific problem. If dangerous situations are recognized, bus routes, bus stops, and walking routes will be modified in accordance with the administrative regulations attached. The maximum walking distances from home to school or to a prescribed point of embarkation (bus stop) area as follows: Students enrolled in elementary school, one mile Students enrolled in grades 6 through 8, one and one-half miles Students enrolled in grades 9 through 12, two miles Kindergarten students, including a.m. dismissal and p.m. session pick up, one mile.
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©2005
Manchester, CT - Board of Education
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