Brockton Public Schools

School Committee Policy

STUDENT TRANSPORTATION SERVICES - EEA-E

State statutes establish the responsibility of the School Committee to provide transportation services for pupil transported to and from home and school and to and from educational programs. With respect to pupils being transported, a written policy statement is required to provide the School Committee, administrators, school bus contractors, pupils and parents with uniformly applied guidelines. Such a policy should be widely disseminated and clearly understood by all. This facilitates impartial administration and consistent operation, provides a convenient, accessible statement of the objectives of the system, and affords a better understanding of the relationship of the transportation operation to the educational system. Following are examples of the subjects that should be treated in the written policy document.

  1. Procedures for determining eligibility for pupil transportation service, specifying the extent of the transportation.
  2. Procurement of equipment and supplies, maintenance and inspection procedures and time period over which equipment will be depreciated.
  3. Driver recruitment, selection, instruction, placement, and supervision.
  4. Determination of geographical areas in which the school will provide transportation services.
  5. Principles of routing, establishing stops, and scheduling buses.

  6. Use of special lighting and signaling equipment on school buses.

    1. Alternately flashing signal lamps shall be used when the bus is stopping or stopped for the purpose of taking on or discharging passengers, as follows:

      1. Alternately flashing amber lamps are to be used to warn motorists that the bus is stopping to take on or to discharge passengers.
      2. Alternately flashing red lights are to be used to inform motorists that the bus is stopped on the roadway to take on or discharge passengers.
    2. When a stop arm is used, it shall be operated simultaneously with the flashing red signal lamps.
    3. A white flashing strobe light may be used to increase the visibility of the school bus on the highway during adverse visibility conditions.

  7. Policy with regard to standees, no standees and the length of time in transit, services to provide, including pupils entitled to transportation by law and the conditions, if any, under which it will be provided to pupils who do not qualify.

    1. Each occupant shall be properly seated and no standees will be permitted while the bus is in motion, as required under Chapter 90, Section 7L of the General Laws of Massachusetts.
    2. If standees are allowed the legal number of standees does not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the legal seating capacity of the vehicle, as required by Chapter 90, Section 7B of the General Laws of Massachusetts. Standees on school buses should be disallowed whenever possible in order to maximize the safety of students being transported.

  8. Policy with regard to the transportation of nonpublic school pupils.

    1. State Statute and any applicable State regulations or case law shall determine such policy.

  9. Policy relative to the supervision of pupils while loading and unloading at school sites, while en route and at school prior to the beginning and following the ending the end of classes.

    1. Local school districts shall be responsible for such policy development.
    2. Rules of behavior for all transported pupils, including the discipline procedures should be described.
    3. Person responsible for the enforcement of such rules of behavior should be designated.
  10. Procedures to be observed in the employment of adult monitors to supervise the loading, transportation, and unloading of pupils require special care.
  11. Procedure for evaluating the school transportation system and how frequently this should be done.
  12. Procedures for the use of buses for extracurricular activities and by other groups permitted by law.