3541.2 - Student Transportation

The County Superintendent of Schools Office will provide transportation for pupils under provisions of state law and regulations so as to:

1. Provide for maximum safety of pupils.
2. Supplement and reinforce desirable pupil behavior patterns.
3. Assist pupils with disabilities appropriately.
4. Support the instructional program.

Transportation of students to and from school, on field trips, on student activity trips or any other group activity under control of the County Superintendent of Schools Office shall be by school buses as defined in the Education Code, or a publicly licensed transportation or common carrier service. School buses may be publicly or privately owned, but must be serviced and maintained as required by the Vehicle Code and regulations of the California Highway Patrol.

Exceptions to this policy may only be granted at the Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent’s designee level on a case-by-case basis and may be made in the case of emergencies or when critical to program/curriculum needs. Exceptions, other than emergencies, should generally be restricted to instances when commercial or public transportation is unavailable, cost prohibitive, or the wait time would adversely impact the instructional program When exceptions are granted, SBCSS employees may utilize school district vehicles that are not prohibited for use for school activity trips by state or federal regulations and shall abide by this policy and all applicable policies of the school district. No students shall be transported in any modified or unmodified 15-passenger van. Prior to transporting any students, SBCSS employees shall complete and submit the Driver Registration Form along with proof of insurance and a copy of his/her driver license to Risk Management. Exceptions for the use of employee or parent-provided private vehicles shall only be made when the availability of all other transportation alternatives, as required by this policy, have been exhausted and all procedures and insurance requirements as contained in procedure 3541.2 are followed.

Individual children may be transported to and from school or part way by their parents under provisions of the Education Code.

In order to provide appropriate and desirable transportation to all home-to-school passengers, vehicles are subject to video/audio surveillance. Please refer to Policy #3541.3 regarding video/audio on school buses.

The County Superintendent of Schools shall provide appropriate transportation services for students with disabilities. The County Superintendent of Schools or designee shall make home-to-school transportation available for these students at no cost to parents/guardians in accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In lieu of providing transportation, the County Superintendent of Schools may reimburse parents/guardians whenever such practice is more economical.

The County Superintendent of Schools’ designee shall arrange transportation schedules so that students with disabilities do not spend an excessive amount of time on buses compared to other students. Arrivals and departures should not reduce the length of the school day for these students except as may be prescribed on an individual basis.

Approved: April 19, 1994
Revised: February 19, 2002
Revised: July 6, 2007
Revised: August 4, 2015