Bus Assignment Decisions



School bus routing and stops are the responsibility of each school's principal. The Transportation Director assists school principals with technical and strategic planning.


Eligible Riders

A student will receive a stop assignment if his or her parent requests transportation from the school and the student is an eligible rider. To be an eligible rider, the student must:

  • Live outside the no-transport zone (determined by each school individually);
  • live within the school's district boundary; and
  • be assigned to that school.

Bus Route and Stop Planning

Principals plan bus routes in a way designed to:

  • Conserve fuel and use buses efficiently, including confining routes to the geographical area assigned to the school;
  • eliminate overlapping routes, backtracking mileage and unnecessary trips; and
  • reduce distances empty buses travel to their first stops ("deadhead").

A route cannot deviate from its general path of direction for less than one-half mile and then return to its original path unless:

  • the stop is for a group of ten or more pupils;
  • the stop is for unescorted students in grades K-3; or
  • the stop is for special education students.

Unless safety factors require otherwise, principals may not plan bus stops less than two-tenth smile apart. Each student must beat his or her designated stop at the time of the bus's arrival.


Non-State Maintained Roads

Buses may travel non-state maintained roads for K-5 students only. Deciding factors can also include road width, road surface conditions, ungated development entrances, adequate turn around availability, stop signs, foliage growth cut for adequate line of sight and a signed HOA's use of private road permission agreement.

School Bus Capacity

According to state law, the rated capacity of a school bus is the maximum number of passengers allowed on that bus at any one time. To avoid overcrowding, a student will be assigned to ONE BUS ONLY.