It is the intent of Greencastle-Antrim School District to provide safe, efficient, and orderly transportation for the students who are residents of our district and properly enrolled in our schools.

Transportation for students shall be provided in accordance with regulations as established by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Motor Vehicle Code and District policy.

In compliance with these regulations, laws and policy, transportation service will be provided within the following annually approved guidelines.

1. All public and non-public students will be assigned to a route and a stop using information provided to the transportation department at the end of the current school year. This information will carry over unless you ask for a change in bus schedule. However, if you have a fifth grader moving to the sixth grade, and he/she has a sitter in the elementary, unless we hear from the parent, your child will be assigned from your home address when he/she enters the 6th grade.
   

2. After the school board approves the bus routes, alterations in bus routes will only be honored based on the Transportation Guidelines.
   

3. Passenger load on bus routes will be maintained as close to full capacity as possible. Students who have a residency address on a bus route will have priority to seating over students at a child care address on that route.
   

4. Routes with turn-arounds (backing) will be avoided except where excessive added mileage or traffic conditions warrant a turn-around.
   

5. CHANGE IN BUS SCHEDULE: No student is permitted to get on or off at a different bus stop other than his or her assigned stop in the a.m. or p.m. Students may have a different address for their morning and afternoon bus stops as long as the pick-up and drop-off sites are consistent each week. For example, your child may get off the bus every Monday, Wed, and Friday at home. On Tuesday and Thursday he/she may get off the bus at a daycare provider. This schedule must stay consistent for the sake of the student’s safety.
   
   

6. Temporary Bus change:

   • The Temporary Bus Change Form must be turned in 48 hours in advance. Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the district will no longer accept temporary bus changes for the convenience of the parent/guardian. For example, if the parent/guardian is off work and the child normally attends after-school childcare, the parent will be responsible to pick their child up at the daycare or pick him/her up from school.

   • Temporary Changes will only be accepted for the following reasons:

     • Daycare is closed

     • Early dismissal days

     • Parent work schedule change is for more than 5 consecutive days

     • Medical emergency situation

   • If an emergency situation requires a bus change immediately, the parent may call the transportation office or school building office and make the request. Emergencies include events such as a death in the family and /or a medical emergency situation

   
   Permanent Change of Residence

   • If you have moved to a new address, the school building office has a change of address form that must be completed and signed by the parent/guardian.
     

   • If the need would arise for a parent/guardian to permanently change a child’s bus assignment due to a change in address or childcare, the parent or guardian may request a “Permanent Bus Change” by completing and submitting such request to the Transportation Department. This change in schedule must be consistent for each week. We ask that this form be submitted 48 hours prior to the start of the bus change. The parent/guardian will then be contacted with the new bus assignment information.
     
     

   PLEASE NOTE: We ask that you make bus changes only when absolutely necessary. We try to accommodate parents, however, if this guideline is abused, we may have to discontinue this procedure.
   
   

7. CHILD CARE PROVIDER: You may have one child care location other than your home. Requests involving multiple childcare locations on different days of the week will not be honored. Any change in your child’s bus schedule due to a child-care location will be based on availability of seating on that bus.
   

8. WE CAN NOT ACCOMMODATE PERSONAL AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES (i.e. birthday parties, dance classes, piano lessons, study sessions, play dates, etc.). Your child must go home on his/her regular scheduled bus.
   

9. SETTING DISTANCE BETWEEN BUS STOPS:
   Your student may be asked to walk a reasonable amount of distance according to School Board Policy (No. 810 section 23.4 line 27).

   • Bus stops in rural areas will be evaluated on the traffic flow (local and through traffic), site distance, existence of railroad crossings, and traffic and road conditions.

   • On certified hazardous routes, a student may be required to walk 500 feet to a bus stop or to the school according to (67 PA Code Chapter 447.3).
     

10. Arrival time for students at the bus stop should be five (5) minutes before the regular scheduled time.
    
    

11. IMPORTANT SAFETY ALERT: Long jacket or sweatshirt drawstrings, backpack straps, or other loose clothing items are especially dangerous. This type of dangling items could get caught in the bus handrail as your child is exiting the bus. Please secure or remove these items for your child’s safety.

Guidelines: Determining Bus Stops

Transportation for students shall be provided in accordance with regulations as established by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the School Laws of Pennsylvania, the Motor Vehicle Code, District policy and all other applicable laws shall apply to these regulations. In compliance with these regulations, laws and policy, transportation service will be provided within the following guidelines.

This policy is intended to recognize that parents are responsible for the safety of pupil/s between the home and the school bus stop until the pupil/s enters the District’s vehicle.

1. Bus Stops in Housing Developments beginning with First Grade:

   • School buses will not enter cul-de-sacs, one road developments or private roads.

   • School buses will not enter a development unless it is the preferred method to reverse the direction of the bus as designed within the route.

   • School buses will enter a development if road conditions make it unsafe for the bus to stop at the entrance to the development based on:

     • the number of students at the stop

     • distance of the development to the main road

     • a safe place for students to stand

     • road and traffic conditions

   • School buses will enter a development if a student lives farther from the entrance than the Board approved distance for walking to a bus stop. This walking distance is 1 ½ miles for elementary and 2 miles for secondary students.
     

   • All the above criteria shall be considered when determining new bus stops for a development.
     

2. Bus Stops in Housing Developments for Kindergarten students will be decided on a case by case basis.