Transportation

Student Discipline on School Buses

Students who have the opportunity to ride a Litchfield Elementary School District bus may do so as long as they display behavior that is reasonable and safe. Choosing to follow unacceptable behavior will result in loss of bus service. The Student Transporter is responsible for the safety and discipline of students on the bus. Student Transporters must handle student misbehavior that threatens passenger safety or distracts the driver. Every attempt will be made to contact a parent/guardian when student behavior is a concern. Our Student Management plan promotes an environment where students, parents, school staff and Student Transporters work together to solve student behavior concerns before a student loses bus privileges. Misconduct on the school bus is categorized into three categories: Minor Offenses, Major Offenses, and Severe Offenses. Below is a chart giving examples of each category and the consequences that will follow:               MINOR OFFENSES              MAJOR OFFENSES  SEVERE OFFENSES Failure to obey authority Refusal to respect authority Use or possession of tobacco, alcohol, or and controlled substance Profanity and obscene gestures Failure to show ID or false ID Use of flammable objects Eating, drinking, and/or chewing gum Throwing object in, at, or from school bus Possession of explosive device, gun, or knife Not being seated properly Harassment of student or Student Transporter Fighting/assault of Student Transporter or another student Standing while bus in motion Possession of instrument construed as a weapon Placing any part of body outside of the school bus window Pushing, shoving, kicking Destroying/vandalizing property Operating controls without Student Transporter consent Littering Impeding movement of the school bus Operating emergency exits or equipment in a non-emergency situation Excessive noise Distraction of Student Transporter Attempting to hold onto the the exterior of the school bus at bus stop Unacceptable materials Spitting Pointing any weapon at the school bus Crossing behind the bus at bus stop Possession of glass objects       Continuously late to bus stop     Riding unassigned bus or getting off at unassigned stop without permission     CONSEQUENCES CONSEQUENCES CONSEQUENCES See Student Agenda for Discipline Matrix         See Student Agenda for Discipline Matrix See Student Agenda for Discipline Matrix    A suspension from the school bus includes ALL of Litchfield Elementary School buses including field trips and ball games. School Administration reserves the right to adjust suspension times based on severity of the incident and if multiple infractions occur. When a student loses their bus riding privileges, a staff member from the Transportation Department will contact the parent/guardian by phone to confirm the suspension dates. If a parent/guardian cannot be reached after multiple attempts, a letter will be sent home with the student in an envelope for the parents/guardian.

What are the Transportation Department Hours?
The office is staffed from 6:00 AM - 5:30 PM Monday through Friday when school is in session. Office hours may vary when school is not in session. Voice mail is available 24 hours per day and will be checked each morning and throughout the day.

How early should my child be at the bus stop?
Students are requested to be at the bus stop five (5) minutes prior to the scheduled pick up time each morning.

What if my child's bus is late in the morning or afternoon?
Although we strive to keep our buses on time all the time, there will be times when the bus may run late due to unforeseen circumstances such as traffic, weather, or other issues. If your child's bus is more than 15 minutes late, please call the Transportation Department at 623-535-6070.

Why does the Student Transporter assign seats?
Our Student Transporters are required to assign seats per department policy. Assigned seating makes loading the buses more efficient because each student already knows where to sit and is not trying to find a seat. Assigned seating also helps reduce vandalism and littering on the buses. Every Litchfield Elementary School District school bus has a letter above the seat to assist your child with remembering where they are supposed to sit.

Why don't buses go into gated communities?
Buses will not enter gated communities for two main reasons:

1. If the gate malfunctions and will not open while the bus driver is trying to enter, the bus will have to back out onto a street putting everyone on the bus at risk. In the event that the driver is in the community and the exit gate malfunctions, the bus will now be late until a solution is found.
2. Many of the gated communities access code boxes are too low for a driver to reach from the bus and the driver is not allowed to leave the bus with students on board at anytime. 

Why can't the bus pick up my children in front of my house?
Bus stops are created as central points to minimize stopping and starting the buses as much as possible. Each time the bus stops, the amount of time students are on the bus gets longer and fuel efficiency is decreased. For the most part, the communities of our district have sidewalks throughout them and walking to a bus stop is completely safe. We attempt to place bus stops in common areas such as green-spaces, mailboxes, parks, schools, etc. Arizona Department of Public Safety Student Transportation Department also mandates that school bus stops are to be a minimum of 600 feet apart from each other.

Can my child ride home with a friend on occasion?
In most cases, yes they can. Please contact the Transportation Department at 623-535-6070 the day before your child is to ride home with a friend, so our routing specialist can make sure there is room on the bus for an extra rider. Also, please send a note with your child to school stating that you give permission for them to ride home with another student. Please include the other student's name on the note, and the bus they would like to ride. Students must take this note to the office at the beginning of the day and have it signed by an office staff member. If the note is given to the Student Transporter in the afternoon WITHOUT approval from an office staff member, they will need to ride their regular bus home or call a parent to be picked up.

Student Transporter Training

All Litchfield Elementary School District Student Transporters are required to adhere to strict training standards from the date they are hired and throughout the duration of their career.

When a Student Transporter is hired into our school district, they go through an interview process, background check, drug testing, physical examination, and then the training finally begins. Training consists of 14 hours of classroom instruction, 20 hours of behind the wheel training, First Aid/CPR certifications, and finally a road test with the Arizona Motor Vehicle Department.

Once a Student Transporter is certified to drive a school bus, the training does not stop. Student Transporters are still required to attend quarterly in-service meetings, complete 6 1/2 hours of refresher training every 2 years, keep their physical and First Aid/CPR certifications up to date.

We assure you that only the safest drivers will be transporting your children to and from school and on field trips.

Bus Safety (Litchfield Elementary School District)

Transportation Department

CDC Guidelines

·         Clean and disinfect frequently.

·         Maintain 6ft of physical distancing if possible.

Litchfield Transportation’s Plan

·         Student Transporters and Monitors will disinfect the vehicle after morning, mid-day, and afternoon routes (See Vehicle Information below). When feasible, and time permitting, vehicles will be disinfected between runs using a 75% alcohol cleaning wipe.

·         Will ensure students are seated in assigned seats, with siblings from the same household seated together.

·         Staff will wear disposable gloves when needed to attend to students/passengers while on the school bus (Monitors will change gloves between attending to students to mitigate cross-contamination).

Vehicle Information

·         Cleaning / Disinfecting of Vehicles

o   Each morning upon arrival, Student Transporters will enter the vehicle and disinfect the school bus using the district product titled 700 Disinfectant Cleaner (provided through the Waxie® Sanitary Supply) before conducting a thorough Pre-Trip Inspection on the vehicle.

o   Student Transporters will then execute the morning routes for each bus (generally consisting of 2-3 schools per route), which takes an average of 2.4 hours each morning.

o   Upon return to the Transportation Department, Student Transporters will:

§  Conduct a thorough Post-Trip of the school bus as directed by the Arizona Minimum Standards for School Buses.

§  Place every other window down on each side of the bus for fresh air to circulate throughout the vehicle.

§  Clean the vehicle

§  Disinfect using the 700 Disinfectant Cleaner product to high touch areas (seats, handrails, dash, driver’s compartment, and doors) before clocking out for the morning shift.

o   The process listed through above will be repeated for all Mid-Day routes.

o   Upon returning to clock in for the afternoon shift, Student Transporters will:

§  perform an afternoon Pre-Trip on the vehicle, as directed by LESD standards,

§  Disinfect the vehicle before leaving the yard to travel to respective schools for afternoon routes.

o   Upon return to the Transportation Department, Student Transporters will

§  Conduct a Post-Trip Inspection on the vehicle, as defined by the Arizona Minimum Standards for School Buses.

§  Use the 700 Disinfectant Cleaner product to disinfect the buses (including seats, handrails, dash, driver’s compartment, and doors) before clocking out for the evening.

§  Windows will remain up and closed after PM routes to secure the bus for the evening.

o   Student Transporters will use Cleaning Wipes (75% alcohol formula) between each run after dropping off at school in the AM, or before arriving at schools in the PM on high touch surfaces (handrails, door, top of seats, etc).

·         Windows may be open to 1/2 for increased air circulation during seasonal times of year

o   Roof hatches will be vented at all times for fresh air to circulate inside the vehicle while using the air conditioning system during warm months.

o   Windows will be open at ½ for safety reasons.

·         All buses will have clearly visible signage (provided from the CDC) above the driver communicating to parents that students should not enter the school bus with any of the identified symptoms (Visible symptoms include runny nose, cough, shortness of breath, or vomiting).