Safety for Bus Riders

• Follow the driver’s instructions.
• If you must leave the bus, stay in a group.
• The student nearest the door will open and hold it open.
• Leave the bus in a single-file line as quietly as possible.
• Evacuation will start with the seat closest to the door. 
• Once outside the bus, follow the driver’s instructions completely.
• Students will not be released to a parent or guardian at the scene of the emergency or accident.

Go straight home or to your designated caregiver as soon as you get off the bus. 

Do not go anywhere else without your parent or guardian’s permission.

The district’s custodial responsibility ends when you exit the bus. Your parents/guardians are then responsible for your behavior or actions. 

The District is not responsible for any item brought on or left on the school bus by a student. A student bringing an item on the bus, including an electronic device, does so at his/her own risk. The District will not be responsible for any damage, loss, or theft of electronic devices.

If school is in session, school buses will run. School will be dismissed only upon instruction from the Superintendent. 

School closings will be communicated using the following:

• ParentSquare alerts
• ParentSquare website

• ​​​​​​Remain seated at all times. Each student is to remain seated for the duration of the trip, and remain seated until the park brake is applied and the bus door opens.
• Do not change seats. Students are required to sit in their assigned seat. They cannot refuse to sit in their assigned seat and cannot deny another student a place to sit.
• Fighting, horseplay, and the use of obscene or vulgar language and/or gestures are forbidden and may result in disciplinary action or denial of bus privileges. 
• Do not throw or spit objects inside or outside the bus. 
• Do not mark, cut, or scratch any part of the bus. 
• The emergency door and exit controls should only be used by students during supervised drills or actual emergencies. 
• Students will not eat, drink, or chew gum on the bus. Water is only permitted on hot days. 
• Students will face forward for the duration of the trip, and shall keep their feet on the floor in front of them and out of the bus aisle. 
• Students are to keep all body parts inside the bus and to themselves. 

The school bus is an extension of the classroom, and the coordinator of safety and school discipline will administer discipline with assistance from the director of transportation. All school board policies that apply to student conduct and other student-related activities also apply to the school bus.

Cameras will run at all times to record students’ behavior for bus safety.

Description of Infractions
Category I: Minor Infractions
Include, but are not limited to the following:

• Jumping from seat to seat
• Not wearing a seat belt if equipped (state law)
• Not staying in the seat while the bus is in motion (state law).
• Being disrespectful to the driver
• Not following the bus driver’s directions
• Screaming, yelling, or making loud and distracting noises
• Not keeping hands and feet to self
• Eating or drinking on the bus
• Not meeting the bus promptly
• Not boarding or exiting the bus at student’s designated stop
• Putting head, arms, hands, or any object out the window
• Chasing after the bus
• Horse playing/pushing/shoving

Category II: Major Infractions
Include, but not limited to the following:

• Accumulating (3) three minor infractions
• Being defiant or disrespectful to the bus driver.
• Instigating a fight
• Vandalism or destruction of the school bus
• Abusing or stealing another student’s property
• Use of tobacco, lighters, vapes, drugs, or alcohol
• Any unauthorized use of emergency exits
• Using profanity or making offensive remarks and/or gestures
• Using another student’s ID badge

Category III

• Throwing objects inside, outside, or at the bus
• Lewd conduct
• Threatening the driver
• Fighting/bullying
• Bringing a weapon on the bus
• Any conduct in violation of state or district code that is a felony, misdemeanor, or requires immediate removal from the bus

The following is an outline of the Bus Discipline Procedure:

• Step 1: The driver will inform the student of the problem behavior. The student will be given a verbal warning for misconduct. Every effort will be made to solve the problem prior to reporting the student to the coordinator of safety and school discipline.
• Step 2: The uniform disciplinary action for ParentSquare USD will be:
  • First and Second Minor Infractions: The driver will submit a conduct form to the coordinator of safety and student discipline to contact the parents/guardians in an effort to correct the situation.
  • Third infraction will result in suspension from the bus.
  • The director of transportation or coordinator of safety and student discipline has the authority to skip steps for serious violations, or to repeat them if the misconduct is not a serious safety violation.

Bus Rider Discipline Policy

Discipline Consequences for PK–Fifth Grade

• First Offense: Verbal warning by administrator and parent/guardian notified.
• Second Offense: Verbal warning by administrator and parent/guardian notified.
• Third Offense: Three-day suspension of bus riding privileges.
• Fourth Offense: Five-day suspension of bus riding privileges.
• Fifth Offense: Six-week suspension of bus privileges.
• Sixth Offense: Suspension of bus privileges for the remainder of the school year.

Discipline Consequences for Sixth-12th Grade

• First Offense: Verbal warning by administrator and parent/guardian notified.
• Second Offense: Verbal warning by administrator and parent notified.
• Third Offense: Five-day suspension of bus riding privileges.
• Fourth Offense: Six-week suspension of bus riding privileges.
• Fifth Offense: Suspension of bus privileges for the remainder of the school year.

Examples of behavior which constitute immediate removal from the bus are listed below.

All Category III Offenses
Based on the severity of the discipline violation, immediate loss of bus privileges may result
at the discretion of the administrator.

• Vandalism (Students will not be allowed back on the bus until compensation for the damage has been made. $75.00 for graffiti removal, $100.00 for cover replacement).
• Throwing objects out of the bus (students will be responsible for paying for any damage done from objects thrown from a bus).
• Assault/fighting/bullying
• Sexual harassment or lewd conduct
• Possession of tobacco, drugs, or alcohol
• Injury to another student 
• Verbal or physical abuse to the bus driver
• Possession of hazardous materials on the bus (lighters, matches, dangerous liquids or gases)
• Possession of a weapon (knife, gun, or object deemed a weapon)