| Ferndale School District |
| Bylaws & Policies |
8600 - TRANSPORTATION
The Board of Education recognizes that transportation of district students to and from school may be required in order to ensure the safety of children and accommodate unique programming within the District.
The Superintendent or designee shall arrange to purchase equipment and maintain vehicles for the transportation of designated students to and from school at the beginning and ending of their school days from designated bus stops, and for the transportation of students on field trips and athletic/extracurricular trips. However, no vehicle shall be purchased or used to transport students for which there is no applicable, passenger-protection, Federal motor vehicle safety standards.
All school buses and student transportation vehicles, whether purchased, leased, or contracted for shall comply with specifications defined in State law. Each operator of a school vehicle used by the District shall be licensed for the purpose for which the vehicle is being used and shall operate the vehicles in accordance with Federal and State laws.
The Board reserves the right to terminate transportation based on financial, legal, or other considerations. It is a privilege for students to ride a District vehicle and this privilege may be revoked if the student's conduct is in violation of the guidelines or the Code of Conduct pertaining to student transportation as established by the Superintendent or designee.
Eligibility for Transportation
Generally, the Ferndale Board of Education shall provide transportation for students to and from school as outlined below:
| A. | Students who require transportation because of a disability as identified in their Individual Education Plan. Transportation of special education students between their home areas and schools outside the district may be on school-owned equipment, through cooperative agreements with other districts, through commercial carriers, and/or by other means in the most efficient and economical manner. | |
| B. | All students in kindergarten through 6th grade who live more than one (1) mile from school or have been identified as eligible for transportation due to safety criteria as outlined in this policy, except for Roosevelt students who will be eligible for transportation if they live more than one-half (1/2) mile from school. | |
| C. | All students in 7th and 8th grade who live more than one and one-half (1 1/2) miles from school or have been identified as eligible for transportation due to safety concerns as outlined in this policy. | |
| D. | Students in kindergarten through 12th grade who participate in the following programs: Oakland Technical Center, C.A.S.A. |
Students Not Eligible for Transportation
Ferndale students not eligible for transportation include the following:
| A. | High School students except those identified in the above listing for transportation. | |
| B. | Adult education students. | |
| C. | Any students attending the Ferndale Schools, but residing in another school district, unless otherwise provided for in this policy. | |
| D. | Any student wishing, as a convenience, to ride the bus home with another student or take the bus to another location for a club or community activity. |
Safety Criteria Which Determine Transportation Eligibility
While the Board of Education believes that Ferndale students, when possible, should walk to school, certain safety criteria have been identified that, when applied to individual students, will render them eligible for transportation to and from school. Those criteria are listed below:
A No elementary or middle school student shall have to cross Woodward Avenue on his/her way to and from school. No elementary or middle school student shall have to cross Nine Mile Road unless a crossing guard is available.
| B. | No elementary school students shall have to cross railroad tracks. | |
| C. | No elementary school students shall have to walk through an industrial park area where there are no sidewalks. |
Field Trips and Extra-Curricular Transportation
Students participating in school sanctioned field trips and extra-curricular activities shall be provided transportation to and from those field trips and activities, providing the field trip and/or activity does not interfere with the K - 12 transportation program. Middle school students staying after school for activities shall be eligible to ride an activity bus from school to a designated stop, as such buses are available.
Student Behavior on School Buses
The school bus driver shall be responsible for maintaining the order of students while they are being transported to or from school. Students shall be expected to comply with the Board-adopted student code of conduct while riding a school bus. When a problem in student conduct requires discipline, the driver shall report such problem in writing on a designated district form to the student's building principal. The principal may suspend a student from bus transportation for disciplinary reasons, in which case the parents are responsible for the student's transportation.
The Board authorizes the installation and use of video recording devices in schools buses to assist the drivers in providing for the safety and well-being of students while on a bus.
Miscellaneous Transportation Policies
| A. | The Superintendent will annually review and recommend to the policy committee the feasibility of providing limited bus stops for school of choice students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade and attending the Ferndale schools. | |
| B. | The Board will adopt a transportation time and route schedule annually, no later than October. The Superintendent or designee is authorized to make any necessary changes in the approved bus routes. | |
| C. | Elementary and middle school parents of children not eligible for transportation may request transportation in cases of extenuating circumstances. Such requests may be granted at the discretion of the Transportation Supervisor on a space available basis. | |
| D. | The Superintendent or designee shall prepare a map of the District indicating each bus stop and bus route or prepare a schedule of bus stops and an itinerary of bus routes to be used in conjunction with a District map. | |
| E. | The Superintendent or designee shall maintain such records and make reports regarding school transportation as are required by the State Board of Education or other governing entity. | |
| F. | The Superintendent or designee shall annually work with the cities of Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, and Oak Park, as well as with Royal Oak Township on the identification of need and locations for crossing guards. The locations of such crossing guards shall be published for parents of the District. | |
| G. | The Superintendent or designee shall promulgate rules governing student conduct during transportation to and from school and on field trips and extra-curricular trips; such rules shall be binding on all students transported by the Board. |
M.C.L.A. 380.1321, 1322, 1323, 1324, 1756
Public Acts 187, 188, 189
A.C. Rule 340.281, 282
Adopted 3/02
Revised 6/16/03
Revised 5/21/07