Elementary/Middle Transportation

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL & MIDDLE SCHOOL BUSING

SCHOOL CODE: 76855

The Transportation Department provides the community a safe, professional and efficient means to transport eligible students in the Dayton area.

We provide transportation for students to and from school, athletic events and field trips. Transportation is also provided for special events as assigned by the district superintendent. Our school bus fleet travels over 8,000 miles per day and over 1.5 million miles a school year! The transportation department employs more than 300 employees, including nearly 200 qualified school bus drivers and substitutes. Additionally, there are highly qualified mechanics who maintain our fleet, body shop/metal workers who make needed repairs to school buses and trained paraprofessionals that ride and assist our special needs students.

The Dayton Public Schools Transportation Department has received the highest marks for safety and reliability from the annual Ohio State Highway Patrol inspection team. We strive to provide safe and reliable transportation for our students by effectively managing time, resources and personnel.

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Versatrans MyStop

Get information about your child's bus route delivered to your phone or email! The Versatrans My Stop app will provide exact pickup and dropoff times, allow you to view where your student’s bus is in near real-time, and send you notifications about delays and other pertinent information.

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FAQ ABOUT ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL BUSING

MEDICAL CONCERNS FORM

1. I RECEIVED A BUS FOR MY CHILD IN THE PAST BECAUSE I DON’T THINK IT’S SAFE FOR HIM TO WALK TO SCHOOL. WHY WON’T HE RECEIVE A BUS THIS YEAR?

As in past years, Dayton Public Schools will continue to transport students who live more than 1.5 miles away from his or her school (as well as those with an individual education program that mandates transportation).

However, in order to provide regular, on-time service to all qualifying students, the district has tightened transportation requirements. This means families who lived inside the 1.5 mile radius and have previously received a bus assignment for individual exceptions (such as living near vacant structures, etc.) will no longer be transported. Only those who have a route to school affected by one of four hazards (river, active railroad tracks, bridge with no sidewalks, and major highways) will be considered for transportation.

2. HOW IS MY CHILD SUPPOSED TO GET TO SCHOOL NOW?

We believe it’s critical to work as partners toward student success, which is why we are asking parents to collaborate with their children’s schools. Each DPS elementary school is working to create a “Safe Routes to School” plan, which may include a walking school bus (a plan to help parents create walking groups) or different traffic plans to help with the morning/afternoon car congestion.

3. WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM TIME A STUDENT MAY RIDE THEIR SCHOOL BUS IN OHIO?

4. WE MOVED DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR; HOW DO I CHANGE MY CHILD’S BUS?

5. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR MY CHILD TO RECEIVE TRANSPORTATION?

6. HOW DO I REQUEST TRANSPORTATION FOR A STUDENT?

7. WHAT IS MY CHILD’S BUS NUMBER?

8. WHAT IS ‘STATE MINIMUM’ TRANSPORTATION?

9. MY CHILD HAS AN IEP (INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM), BUT TRANSPORTATION IS NOT BEING PROVIDED. WHY IS THIS?

10. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE BUS WILL NOT STOP IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE AND MY CHILD WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE BUS AT ANOTHER LOCATION THAT IS NOT VISIBLE FROM MY HOME; WHAT CAN I DO?

No law requires a parent to be able to see a bus stop from his or her home. It is the parent and/or guardian’s responsibility to make sure a student arrives at and from the bus stop safely. Walk your young child to the bus stop and have older children walk in groups. There is safety in numbers; groups are easier for drivers to see. Brightly colored clothing is easier for drivers to see than dark colors. Have your child pack his/her belongings in a backpack so items are not lost along the way. Make sure your child leaves the house so that he/she gets to the bus stop at least ten minutes before stop time. Running can be dangerous!

11. I WANT MY CHILD TO WAIT INSIDE MY HOUSE UNTIL THE BUS IS AT THE STOP. IS THIS ALLOWED?

Dayton Public Schools requires children to be waiting at the bus stop ten (10) minutes prior to and ten (10) minutes after its scheduled arrival. Bus drivers must count the students at the bus stop before they load and as they get on the bus to ensure all children are safely onboard. If students are not waiting at the bus stop, the bus driver cannot count them and cannot be certain all the students are safely on board. Waiting at the bus stop before the bus arrives further ensures that no one chases after a bus, which is a very dangerous thing to do. Many districts also instruct their buses not to stop at locations where no students are waiting.

12. WILL MY CHILD RECEIVE DOOR-TO-DOOR TRANSPORT?

13. WHY DOES MY CHILD HAVE TO BE AT THE BUS STOP 10 MINUTES BEFORE OR 10 MINUTES AFTER THE SCHEDULED TIME?

14. WHY CAN'T MY REGULAR EDUCATION STUDENT RIDE THE SAME BUS WITH MY SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENT?

15. WHY IS MY CHILD'S BUS LATE?

16. CAN YOU NOTIFY ME WHEN THE BUS IS LATE?

It is our goal to provide transportation to those students who qualify, every day, on time. Unfortunately, unexpected glitches such as traffic delays, shortage of drivers, etc. may mean your child’s bus is late for pick up or drop off. Because of the rapid nature of these delays, we may not be able to give you a specific time. One of our biggest challenges to date has been maintaining current contact information for parents, many of whom change phone numbers and do not update the phone number with the school/district

17. WHY DID YOU SUSPEND MY CHILD FROM RIDING THE BUS?

Behavioral expectations on the school bus are much like those in the classroom. Add in the mobility of that "classroom" and traffic, added noise and the size of the "classroom" and you have a potential catastrophe if there are not clear expectations and enforcement. The behavioral expectations on the bus revolve around the individual rights of every person on the bus, including the driver and the collective rights of students and driver as it pertains to safety. Anything that jeopardizes the safety of individuals on the bus is viewed as serious. Most drivers have bus rules or expectations posted on the bus; also, the yearly Student Code of Conduct booklet is distributed by the school and discussed in-depth with your student. When there is an infraction, a referral is turned in to school administrators, who are responsible for contacting the student and parent to resolve the lack of compliance with bus expectations. The school administrator is solely responsible for consequences based on the incident as described by the driver and student. Our goal is never to deny any student transportation to and from school, but we must maintain safety for all students.

18. WHY CAN'T MY CHILD GET OFF WHEREVER THEY WANT IN THE AFTERNOON?

19. MY CHILD MISSED THE BUS PICKUP IN THE MORNING; WILL ONE COME BACK?

20. DO YOU TRANSPORT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS?

21. HOW DO YOU DECIDE IT IS TOO HAZARDOUS TO TRANSPORT STUDENTS TO SCHOOL BECAUSE OF WEATHER?

When deciding whether to close schools, factors that are taken into consideration include:

Amount and type of snow;

When the snow falls, and when the snowfall is expected to end;

Ability to clear parking lots and sidewalks around schools;

Condition of all streets (thoroughfare and residential), and bus stops;

Freezing rain and the effect on roads, power lines and tree limbs;

Wind and wind chill; and,

Temperature (watched closely when predicted near 0º) Members of the DPS weather team closely monitor local forecasts at first announcement of a storm front. At all times the safety of students and staff is the basis for determining the cancellation of school. The condition of all roads is also considered. There will be times when the regular buses cannot travel on all roads because of large accumulations of snow, or because of certain drifting patterns in some areas of the district. Main roads, over time, may be cleared after a morning snowfall, but our residential streets often remain hazardous beyond those early hours when buses deliver our children to school. In most situations, the decision to close schools will be made by 4:30 a.m. When schools are closed for the day, all extra-curricular activities, interscholastic athletics, practices, and field trips are cancelled. Notification of school closings because of inclement weather will be sent to local radio and TV stations, and posted on the DPS website.

22. CAN MY STUDENT GET OFF THE BUS WITHOUT A PARENT/GUARDIAN/DESIGNEE THERE TO MEET THEM? WHAT HAPPENS IF I AM NOT THERE TO MEET THE BUS?

A parent/guardian/designee is required to be at the stop only for kindergarten students. Students in grades one through eight are not required to have an adult at the stop. If no adult is at the stop to receive a kindergarten student:

DPS students are taken to the Dayton Public Schools administration building at 115 S. Ludlow St.

Non-DPS students are returned to the child’s school of attendance

23. HOW ARE BUS STOPS DETERMINED?

24. HOW CAN I BECOME A DPS SCHOOL BUS DRIVER?

Attention

Elementary/Middle Transportation

STUDENTS & PARENTS

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL & MIDDLE SCHOOL BUSING

GET TRANSPORTATION NOTIFICATIONS

FAQ ABOUT ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL BUSING