Transportation

In order to ensure the safety of each child, the School Board has set bus behavior guidelines. Please review these guidelines with your children. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse for non-enforcement. Students violating these rules may forfeit bus-riding privileges. 

• Bus stops are generally located at corners or intersections. The designated area that students wait for the bus must be within a bus length to the corner (approximately 40 feet).
• Stopping at corners or intersections is safer due to the expectations of traffic. Students are also generally taught to cross at corners, not mid-block. When a bus makes a mid-block stop it can confuse motorists, who generally anticipate that buses will make stops at corners or intersections. It also provides the driver, or a substitute driver, a landmark (intersection) to identify prior to making the stop so the eight-lamp system can be properly activated to warn the public. This also allows the driver to scan the area for students when approaching the intersection.
• District policy for distance to a bus stop from home can be up to 3-tenths of a mile for elementary students and up to 7-tenths of a mile for secondary students.
• School buses use the eight-light system and stop arm at all bus stops. In order to properly operate the eight-light system, no bus stop will be made within 300 feet of one another.
• Buses are not allowed to travel down cul-de-sacs. Backing a school bus is a very dangerous maneuver. A full-sized bus needs 115 feet to safely turn and most cul-de-sacs do not fit this criteria.
• Buses are not allowed on private roads.
• There is not a fixed number of students that warrants adding or moving a stop. Stops are determined on an individual basis.
• Visibility from the home to the bus stop is not part of the criteria for establishing a bus stop.
• Stranger-Danger criteria are used only under documented, persisting or current cases that public safety can verify.
• A school bus driving by a home does not warrant adding or changing a stop. A high frequency of stops can make the motoring public impatient and cause drivers to drive around the bus causing greater safety concern than the distance a student has to walk to the bus stop. It also delays the bus, making the overall student time on the bus longer.
• Weather conditions are not part of the criteria for a bus stop change.
• School bus drivers do not have authority to change bus routes or student stops.

1. Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota State Rules contain provisions which are designed to protect school bus passengers by controlling the transportation of dangerous objects in a school bus. Prohibited objects include loose or bulky object that are not part of the regular education school program. Additionally, no object shall be so placed in a bus as to restrict any part of the passageway leading to any emergency exit.
2. No weapons of any kind may be transported on a school bus. These include, but are not limited to knives, guns, any nocuous or dangerous chemicals or any other potential weapon.
3. No flammable objects of any kind may be transported on a school bus. These include, but are not limited to gasoline, lighter fluid, spray paint, matches, lighters and any other flammable substances including any fireworks.
4. No animals of any type may be transported on a school bus. The exception being a, certified seeing eye dog for the visually impaired may be transported upon approval of the School District Transportation Department.
5. It is illegal to transport any object which is likely to cause injury to a student in an accident. Objects which may not be transported on a regular education school bus include but are not limited to the following:
   1. Skis and ski poles cannot be transported on any school bus.
   2. Hockey equipment cannot be transported on any regular education school bus.
   3. Golf bags and equipment cannot be transported on a regular education school bus.
   4. Bats and Lacrosse sticks cannot be transported on a regular education school bus.
   5. Buses specifically provided for extracurricular events, or any other non-regular education busing, may carry equipment on board the bus provided the equipment is secured and does not block the bus aisle or emergency exits. The School District will provide a trailer for big and bulky equipment on extracurricular trips including sports trips when deemed necessary.
6. Band instruments and athletic equipment may only be transported on a regular education school bus under two circumstances:
   1. The equipment must be small enough to be held on the students lap or;
   2. The equipment may be held between the students legs on the floor of the school bus and do not extend higher than the seat back. Under no circumstance may athletic or band equipment be transported that is not physically controlled by the student.
7. Items that are not part of the regular or extracurricular school sponsored program may not be transported on any School District School Bus. This would include but is not limited to skateboards.

If your child(ren) is transported to and from a non-public school at your expense, you may, through your school of attendance, be eligible for reimbursement.  Minnesota State Law specifies that students who attend out-of-district non-public schools are due reimbursement from their home to the District boundary if they meet these criteria:

To Be Eligible for Reimbursement

1. The student must be a resident of School District 622.
2. The student must attend a non-public school where there are no similar schools within the district having similar religious affiliation with similar grade levels.
3. The student must live more than one mile (Grades K-5) or more than one and one-half miles (Grades 6-12) walking distance from the school of attendance.       
4. The student must attend the non-public school a minimum of 20 days and not have attended a District school more than 20 days within the same school year. (Reimbursements will be pro-rated if student has not attended the entire school year.)
5. Reimbursement will be calculated on the one child that has attended the most days of school from each family.
6. Transportation will be arranged either by the non-public school or by the parent.  If the parent is providing the transportation, it will be the responsibility of the parent to assure that students are transported safely with adequate insurance kept in force and a qualified licensed driver and the vehicle are in safe operating condition.

Parent/Guardian Instructions

1. If your child(ren) are eligible according to the specifications listed above, you may use the form posted to apply for reimbursement.
2. Return the form to the non-public school your child attends no later than 30 days after the beginning of school.

Your Non-Public School Must Submit to District 622

1. A student list with student name, grade level, home address, telephone #, and parents name prior to October 15 each school year.  
2. A final list as specified above, including each students’ attendance for the school year, submitted to District 622 Transportation prior to June 15 each school year. 

After your school submits the final year-end list to our office, the information will be verified and all eligible reimbursements from the District will be paid to your school.  It is up to your non-public school to either send you a check, or credit your account at the school. The maximum reimbursement payment is $200.00 per family/household.

For questions, start with your school office, or call District 622 Transportation at 651-621-1980.