Policy 4:110

Business and Non-Instructional Operations

Transportation

To provide a safe transportation program, the Board of Education shall retain fiscal control and administrative responsibility for the transportation program.

A student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) may file a petition with the Board requesting transportation due to the existence of a serious safety hazard. Free transportation service and vehicle adaptation is provided for a special education student if included in the student’s individualized educational program. Non-public school students shall be transported in accordance with state law. Homeless students shall be transported in accordance with Section 45/1-15 of the Education for Homeless Children Act. Foster care students shall be transported in accordance with Section 6312(c)(5)(B) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

A transportation fee for students who are not entitled to free transportation shall be paid on a yearly basis. Fees will be pro-rated. If the fees are adjusted, calculations will be based on a semi-annual rate.

Bus schedules and routes shall be determined by the Superintendent or designee and shall be altered only with the Superintendent or designee’s approval and direction. In setting the routes, the pick-up and discharge points should be as safe for students as possible.

No school employee may transport students in school or private vehicles unless authorized by the administration.

Every vehicle regularly used for the transportation of students must pass safety inspections in accordance with state law and Illinois Department of Transportation regulations. The strobe light on a school bus may be illuminated only when the bus is actually being used as a school bus and (1) is stopping or stopped for loading or discharging students on a highway outside an urban area, or (2) is bearing one or more students. The Superintendent shall implement procedures in accordance with state law for accepting comment calls about school bus driving.

All contracts for charter bus services must contain the clause prescribed by state law regarding criminal background checks for bus drivers.

Pre-Trip and Post-Trip Vehicle Inspection

The Superintendent or designee shall develop and implement a pre-trip and post-trip inspection procedure to ensure that the school bus driver: (1) tests the two-way radio or cellular radio telecommunication device and ensures that it is functioning properly before the bus is operated, and (2) walks to the rear of the bus before leaving the bus at the end of each route, work shift, or work day, to check the bus for children or other passengers in the bus. If the District contracts with a private sector school bus company for the transportation of students, the school bus company shall have an equivalent inspection procedure.

Adopted: September 8, 1997
Revised: February 19, 2008; April 23, 2019; April 25, 2022