Wake County families may want to make sure their before-school and after-school care providers are ready to handle some proposed changes to school bus procedures this fall.
Revised draft regulations from school transportation staff would now require daycare centers and after-school care centers to have staff present to load and unload students. Approval of transportation to these facilities would now have to be requested and reapproved annually.
Those are just some of these proposed changes to policy and R&P that staff presented to the school board's policy committee on Tuesday.
Staff said most of the changes are being made to reflect the elimination of base assignments and the move to the new choice-based assignment plan.
For instance, policy now says that families whose transfer request has been approved can get bus service if their school is on their proximity choice list.
The wording on ride times is also being adjusted.
Currently, R&P says the goals for maximum one-way ride time are 75 minutes for base elementary students, 90 minutes for base secondary students and 30 minutes in addition to the above times for magnet and calendar-option students.
The new R&P wording drops the word "maximum." It also says the goals for one-way ride times are less than one hour for proximity elementary and secondary students and 45 minutes in addition to the above times for magnet students, application students, students attending schools not on their choice list and students attending non-proximate schools.
Even though the wording for magnet students is being changed from 30 minutes to 45 minutes in addition to above times, staff said it should still be about the same because they're reducing the times for proximity students.
There's also additional wording in the bus idling policy to say that buses should not idle for more than 10 minutes to complete pre- and post-trip inspections. Staff said they wanted this in policy to be able to point to it to get drivers to limit idling.
The policy on contract transportation services is also being modified to say that it includes students who don't fall under IDEA or 504 plans. Contract services are provided to pick up students who for various reasons aren't riding regular school buses.
The board would need to vote on the policy changes.
Comments
Problematic- on several levels
Fri, 06/01/2012 - 23:22 — raleighlauraWe should be decreasing bus rides and enforcing the ceiling we already have, not making policy that gives us more leeway in how far and how long we bus elementary students.
Additionally, the idea that day care centers who take elementary students after school (who are presumably going to places that are proximate to the school, or the buses wouldn't travel there in the first place) can have staff just standing around waiting for multiple buses is crazy. I know from experience.
My story:When my child was a kindergartener, I made arrangements for him to ride the bus to the child care center around the corner from my neighborhood for after school care. I had the bus stop officially approved, and Sanderson transportation said the bus would PULL IN to the center and drop him at their front door.
Well, that never happenned. The bus driver on the route said that going through their driveway took too much time and dropped my five year old off on the corner of Millbrook Road. In order to have him supervised, I had to have a staff member stand there, sometimes for as much as 25 minutes, waiting on the bus to come all so this driver didn't have to make the approved 20 second pull in into the parking lot.
When I complained, I was told that they were short drivers, and that they needed to work with the ones they had. Their incompetence cost me a pretty penny that year in fees, and I really hope that this doesn't become SOP.
Finally, it shouldn't take board policy to make drivers not idle the buses. That is a management issue, and one the Supt. can certainly handle without a policy in place.
This is the kind of bureaucracy we are going to empower to authorize annual drop offs for our child care?? Please vote no, Board.
vote no
Fri, 06/01/2012 - 14:10 — sam123456no child should have to spend anywhere near an hour on a bus. The word maximum needs to be added back in or we could see very long bus rides! I wonder if this has anything to do with the new "wonderful" assignment plan....
I bet it's all happening because they found
Mon, 06/04/2012 - 09:43 — FSandYOUH O L E S
in the floor, under one of the bus seats!