3600: Student Transportation

STUDENT TRANSPORTATION

1.0       The District shall provide student transportation as provided in this policy.

2.0       The extent of transportation provided by the District shall be determined by the level of resources (e.g., funding, vehicles, staffing) available for transportation.  The extent of student transportation shall be reviewed annually by the Director of Transportation and presented to the Superintendent for approval of any changes.

3.0       The District will transport students in buses owned or rented by the District between District identified bus stops and schools under the following conditions, except as set forth in section 5.0 herein:

3.1       When pupils reside farther from school than:

3.1.1    One and one-quarter (1 ¼) miles from the school for elementary school (grades K-5) students;

3.1.2    One and one-half (1 ½) miles from the school for middle school (grades 6-8) students;

3.1.3    Two and one-half (2 ½) miles from the school for high school (grades 9-12) students.

3.2       Transported students walk distance to a bus stop shall not exceed the walk distance identified per the student’s grade level described in 3.1.1, 3.1.2, and 3.1.3.

3.3       Transportation may be provided to and from a student's school of enrollment in connection with school-sponsored activities.

4.0       Transportation may be provided to students living nearer to school than the identified walk distances in section 3.1 when:

4.1       Transportation is a related service pursuant to an Individualized Education Plan or Section 504 plan; or

4.2       Pedestrian access is deemed to be too hazardous for walking as determined using the District’s walk path formula criteria in Exhibit A.  Criteria for determination of safe walk path shall include number and age of pupils, traffic and other safety considerations.

5.0       Transportation shall not be provided to students of a “walk-in” school.  A school is designated a “walk-in” when all or a majority of students who attend the school live within the prescribed walk distance and no students or a small group of students live outside of, but near the perimeter of, the walking distance of a particular neighborhood school. In these cases, transportation will not be provided and the small group outside of the walking distance may be required to walk to school if safe walking conditions exist as referenced in Section 4.2.  With regard to mobile home, apartment, condominimum and multi-family communities, distance from a school shall be measured from the clubhouse, or in the absence of a clubhouse, the office, or a central location as determined by the District.

6.0       Parents/guardians and students each have roles and responsibilities for the safe transportation of all students.  It is the responsibility of the parent to ensure his/her child gets to and from school/bus stops safely.  Parents/guardians and students are responsible for the student’s behavior at the bus stop and while being transported.

6.1       Student behavior will be monitored and enforced through the District’s transportation student management and discipline guidelines or in accordance with a student’s Individualized Education Plan or Section 504 Plan.

7.0       Bus routes and bus stops shall be established based upon the number and age of students requiring transportation, traffic and other safety considerations, and District resources such as but not limited to: bus capacity, efficient utilization of resources, and staffing.  Once established, drivers shall adhere to the route schedule as to location and time of route stops, except in emergency situations, during inclement weather, or upon prior notification to parents of change in stop location or time of pickup/dropoff.

7.1       In general, designated bus stops shall be located in an area with at least two-hundred (200) feet visibility in both directions and where children shall not cross a major thoroughfare to reach the stop.  Factors taken into consideration in determining bus stop locations include but are not limited to: visibility, lateral clearance, student access, and control of other motorists.  When establishing bus stops, emphasis will be placed on locations that can safely accommodate the number of students at a stop; such as school grounds, parks, and or greenbelts.  With regard to mobile home, and multi-family communities with limited vehicle access, the bus stop will be located at the clubhouse, or in the absence of a clubhouse, the office or other central location as deemed appropriate by the District.

8.0       The District reserves the right to charge fees for student transportation, in accordance with law, and as determined by the Board of Education from time to time.

9.0       The Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Transportation are authorized to determine transportation needs of the District in emergency situations.

LEGAL REFERENCE
C.R.S. 22-32-113
C.R.S. 42-4-1903
C.R.S. 42-4-1904
1CCR 301-26

CROSS REFERENCE
Code 5260
Code 3600, Exhibit A

Adams 12 Five Star Schools
Most Recent Adoption: August 16, 2019

 

Exhibit A
District Policy 3600                                                                                                                

WALK PATH FORMULA CRITERIA

A number of factors determine whether school children should walk or be transported to school, since no two highways or street corners are exactly alike.  There are factors that will be present in most situations: the speed and volume of traffic and the exposure of schoolchildren to traffic.  The age of the children must be considered because what may be a hazard for a kindergarten student may not pose the same hazard for an eighth grade student. 

A hazard is a situation which results from the presence of a combination of factors.  The best way to determine the existence of a hazard is to weigh the factors which contribute to the hazard.  The factors are assigned point values from 0.5 to 5.  More important factors are assigned more weight.  A hazard shall exist in any situation when the sum of the points equals or exceeds 12.

Judgment Points – One or two points may be added for judgment factors peculiar to the hazards due to vehicular traffic in a specific situation.  Such additions must be accompanied by adequate information to justify the special circumstances being considered.

There are five basic types of situations which students walking to school may encounter and which may or may not be considered a hazard:

Ø  Walking along a roadway.
Ø  Walking on a roadway.
Ø  Crossing a roadway.
Ø  Crossing railroad tracks.
Ø  Walking along a pedestrian walkway or bike path.

The following factors are relevant in determining whether children walking along a roadway encounter a hazard:

Ø  Grade of Pupil – Table 1
Ø  Location of Walkway in Relation to the Roadway – Table 2
Ø  Speed of Traffic – Table 3
Ø  Volume of traffic –Table 4
Ø  Length of Hazardous Section – Table 5

A hazard exists if the total points are equal to or greater than 12.

The following factors are relevant in determining whether children walking on a roadway encounter a hazard:

Ø  Grade of Pupil – Table 1
Ø  Reason for Walking on a Roadway – Table 6
Ø  Speed of Traffic – Table 3
Ø  Volume of traffic – Table 4
Ø  Length of Hazardous Section – Table 7

A hazard exists if the total points from each table are equal to or greater than 12.

The following factors are relevant in determining whether children crossing a roadway are endangered by a serious safety hazard:

Ø  Grade of Pupil – Table 1
Ø  Type of Intersection Control – Table 8
Ø  Speed and Volume of Traffic – Table 9
Ø  Width of roadway – Table 10

A hazard exists if the total points from each table are equal to or greater than 12.

The following factors are relevant in determining whether children crossing railroad tracks encounter a hazard:

Ø  Grade of Pupil – Table 1
Ø  Crossing Protection and Number of Tracks – Table 11
Ø  Speed and Number of Trains – Table 12

A hazard exists if the total points from each table are equal to or greater than 12.

The following factors are relevant in determining whether children walking on a walkway encounter a hazard:

Ø  Grade of Pupil – Table 1
Ø  Location of Walkway – Table 13
Ø  Length of Walkway (Remote area) – Table 14

MULTIPLE HAZARDS

Pupils walking to school may encounter multiple hazardous situations.  A hazard exists if the total of the points from the tables and any judgment points for any two situations encountered by the same schoolchildren equals or exceeds 20 points.  Multiple hazards consist of the two worst hazard situations.

WALK PATH FORMULA CRITERIA
WALK PATH FORMULA
TABLES

GRADE OF PUPIL -TABLE 1

Grade	Points
K – 5	5
6 - 8	3
9 – 12	0.5

 

LOCATION OF WALKWAY – TABLE 2

Location	Dist. between edges of Roadway and walk	Points
Walkway on Shoulder (no curb present)	Less than 5 ft.	3
	5 ft. – 10 ft.	1
Walkway Behind Curb or Ditch	Less than 4 ft.	2
	4 ft. – 8 ft.	0.5

 

SPEED OF TRAFFIC – TABLE 3

Speed (MPH)	Points
50 – 55	4
40 – 45	2
30 – 35	0.5

 

VOLUME OF TRAFFIC – TABLE 4

Hourly Volume	Points
	2 – Lane	4 – Lane
Greater than 1500	5	4
1200 – 1499	4	3
800 – 1199	3	2
400 – 799	2	1
100 – 399	1	0.5

 

LENGTH OF HAZARDOUS SECTION – TABLE 5

Distance (miles)	Points
Greater than 1.0	2
0.8 – 1.0	1.5
0.5 – 0.7	1
0.2 – 0.4	0.5

 

REASON FOR WALKING ON ROADWAY – TABLE 6

Location	Points
On roadway* for a minimum of 350 ft because no shoulder or walkway exits off the pavement	3
On roadway* for a minimum of 50 ft because of a narrow bridge or underpass.	4

 

LENGTH OF HAZARDOUS SECTION – TABLE 7

Distance (Miles)	Points
Greater than 1.0	5
0.8 – 1.0	4
0.5 – 0.7	3
0.2 – 0.4	2
Less than 0.2	1

 

TYPE OF INTERSECTION CONTROL – TABLE 8

Controls on Roadway Being Crossed	Points
No stop control	3
Traffic signals	2
Two – way stop control	1
Control providing pedestrian protection. (All way stop or adult crossing guards.)	0.5

 

SPEED AND VOLUME OF TRAFFIC – TABLE 9

Speed (MPH)	Hourly Volume	Points
40 – 55	Greater than 1500	5
	1000 – 1500	4
	500 – 999	3
	250 – 499	2
	100 – 249	1
30 – 40	Greater than 1500	4
	1000 – 1500	3
	500 – 999	2
	250 – 499	1
Less than 30	Greater than 1500	3
	1000 – 1500	2
	500 – 999	1

 

WIDTH OF ROADWAY – TABLE 10

Width (FT)	Points
40 or Greater	2
25 – 39	1
24 or Less	0.5

 

CROSSING PROTECTION AND NUMBER OF TRACKS – TABLE 11

Number of Tracks (In use during school crossing hours)	Points
	Active Protection	Cross Bucks Only
3 or more	3	5
2	2	4
1	1	2

 

SPEED AND NUMBER OF TRAINS – TABLE 12

Daily Number of Trains (During School Crossing Period)	Points
	Train Speed  (MPH)
	Less than 40	40 or Greater
4 or more	4	5
3	3	4
2	2	3
1	1	2

 

LOCATION OF WALKWAY – TABLE 13

Location	Dist. Between Edges of Walkway and Ditch	Points
Walkway Behind Ditch	Less than 5 ft	3
	5 ft or Greater	0.5

 

LENGTH OF WALKWAY (REMOTE AREA) – TABLE 14

Location	Distance (Miles)	Points
Walkway along an open space habitat or empty field	Greater than 1.0	4
	0.5 – 1.0	3
	0.2 – 0.5	2
	Less than 0.2	1

 

Exhibit A

District Policy 3600                                                                                                                      Page 1 of 2

 

DEFINITIONS

 

The following definitions will be used in determining whether a particular area is considered a hazard to school age children.

 

Curb. A vertical or sloping barrier along a roadway at least four inches high clearly defining the edge to motorists.

Length of hazardous section. The length (rounded to the nearest tenth of a mile) of the hazardous condition to which children walking along a roadway are exposed. 

Roadway. The portion of the road or street on which vehicles travel, consisting of the pavement surface, exclusive of the shoulders.

Shoulder. The relatively flat area between the outer edge of an uncurbed roadway and the point where the ground begins sloping either upward or downward intended for the accommodation of stopped vehicles or emergency use.

Speed of traffic. The posted speed where signs are present.  (School speed zones of 20 miles per hour shall not be considered).  If no regular speed limit signs are present, the speed of traffic shall be considered 30 miles per hour in urban areas and 55 miles per hour in rural areas.

Volume of traffic. The peak hourly volume of traffic during the periods when children are going to or from school. (Annual Average Daily Traffic (ADT) volumes may be obtained from the agency maintaining a road usually the State or county highway department or municipal street department.)

Walkway. The area on which schoolchildren normally walk along a street or highway, including a concrete sidewalk, a surface or unsurfaced pathway, or a roadway shoulder. The walkway when immediately adjacent to the roadway, must be at least 2 feet in width, otherwise the children will be considered walking on the roadway.

Controls providing pedestrian protection. Either of the following: All way stop – all approaches to the intersection are required by signs to stop; or Adult crossing guards – any intersection where traffic is stopped by an adult crossing guard, regardless of other traffic controls.

No stop control. No stop signs or traffic signals that would require vehicles on the roadway, which the children are crossing to stop.  Yield signs are not stop controls.

Traffic signals. Traffic lights that alternately stop traffic on one approach and then another.

Two way stop control. Traffic on the roadway being crossed by the schoolchildren is required to stop by a stop sign.

Railroad crossing protection.
Crossbucks only: an “X” shaped sign mounted upon a post at a rail-highway crossing inscribed with the words “Railroad” on one panel and “Crossing” on the other.
Active protection: any protection that is designed to be actuated by the approach of an oncoming train (including lights, bells and gates) or protection by a crossing guard.

Number of tracks. Total number of tracks, which, during periods when schoolchildren are normally going to and from school, carry trains.

Number of trains. Daily number of trains passing through the crossing during the periods when schoolchildren are normally going to and from school.  The number will include the total of a.m. and p.m. trains.

Train. One locomotive by itself, 2 or more locomotives coupled together, or one or more locomotives with train cars.

Train speed. The highest lawful speed at the crossing.