School busses dropping off kids far from home?

[emh1129]

Another mother and I were talking about this at the bus stop this afternoon. We live in a townhome complex and the school bus does one drop off, right at the entrance. They don't enter the neighborhood. I'm not sure why- the streets are normal size and would be large enough to accommodate a school bus. And all of the streets are loops (three total), so there would be no turning around.
There is a bus for K-2 and another for grades 3-5. Both drop off the children at the entrance, which is right on a busy street. There is no shelter from the rain for the children who have to walk themselves down there. It also makes me nervous to see all of the siblings waiting down there for their older brothers and sisters.
My son is in kindergarten, so I drive him down there (with his two younger sisters in tow). The walk is probably a mile from our house, so it's too far especially in the cold. We are at the far end of the complex, as far from the entrance as you can get.
It's also incredibly inconvenient for the moms like me, who have younger children who like to take naps in the afternoons or sleep a bit later in the mornings. It would be great just to meet ds out in our driveway!
But I've noticed that most of the children don't even have parents to meet them at the bus stop. They just get off and start walking. And that really bothers me. It doesn't seem safe.
As the cold weather has been approaching, I've had kids start asking for rides (we have a minivan, so we do have some extra room) to their houses, but that makes me nervous from a legality standpoint. But I also think it's cruel to make them walk a mile in the freezing cold.
So I'm wondering... are there any laws regarding this? We are in CT.
I'm thinking about approaching the Board of Ed with a proposal that the bus should drive through all three loops of the neighborhood, making one or two stops on each one.
There are probably a total of 40 children who are affected by this.
I remember when I was in elem. school, they decided that children who lived under 1.5 miles from the school should walk. My mom took pictures documenting the walk (which included a path through some woods) and got them to reverse that decision.

Any thoughts or insight?

 

[mlraabe]

We are lucky enough to have our kids dropped off right at our back door. We live out of town but along a main street. We have friends who live down the road and back a township road - still big enough for a bus and maintained by our local township. The bus used to go down that road but the bus company changed the route and now the kids get off at the end of the road. The houses are few and far between and all 1 - 1.5 miles away from the stop. Apparently, in PA the law is students can walk as long as it is within this milage. They have been fighting it for over a year and no luck! Good luck to you!

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

There are no buses here. Kids walk to school every day, or take public transportation.

What is wrong with walking with other kids?

 

[emh1129]

What is wrong with walking with other kids?

Even in the safest of towns, I don't think that's safe for young children. We are talking kindergarten through 5th grade. So ages 4/5-10, basically. I'd never allow my 6 year old to walk to the bus stop, no matter how many other children accompanied him.

 

[Starr W.]

Another mother and I were talking about this at the bus stop this afternoon. We live in a townhome complex and the school bus does one drop off, right at the entrance. They don't enter the neighborhood. I'm not sure why- the streets are normal size and would be large enough to accommodate a school bus. And all of the streets are loops (three total), so there would be no turning around.
There is a bus for K-2 and another for grades 3-5. Both drop off the children at the entrance, which is right on a busy street. There is no shelter from the rain for the children who have to walk themselves down there. It also makes me nervous to see all of the siblings waiting down there for their older brothers and sisters.
My son is in kindergarten, so I drive him down there (with his two younger sisters in tow). The walk is probably a mile from our house, so it's too far especially in the cold. We are at the far end of the complex, as far from the entrance as you can get.
It's also incredibly inconvenient for the moms like me, who have younger children who like to take naps in the afternoons or sleep a bit later in the mornings. It would be great just to meet ds out in our driveway!
But I've noticed that most of the children don't even have parents to meet them at the bus stop. They just get off and start walking. And that really bothers me. It doesn't seem safe.
As the cold weather has been approaching, I've had kids start asking for rides (we have a minivan, so we do have some extra room) to their houses, but that makes me nervous from a legality standpoint. But I also think it's cruel to make them walk a mile in the freezing cold.
So I'm wondering... are there any laws regarding this? We are in CT.
I'm thinking about approaching the Board of Ed with a proposal that the bus should drive through all three loops of the neighborhood, making one or two stops on each one.
There are probably a total of 40 children who are affected by this.
I remember when I was in elem. school, they decided that children who lived under 1.5 miles from the school should walk. My mom took pictures documenting the walk (which included a path through some woods) and got them to reverse that decision.

Any thoughts or insight?

Our district a few years ago was just going to have the buses stop at subdivision entrances(they do the JR/HS dropoffs like that) for elementary and totally drop HS bussing. Well the levy got passed so that went away. When diesel prices were way up, I was waiting for them to bring that plan up again.

Our district the kids go outside for recess unless it's below 25F.

I certainly don't like our district's ideas of letting 6th graders(Jr high) riding the bus with HS students, plus it's not like in my day with the new HS way out of town, instead of 5 blocks away. My kid would spend 40 minutes on the bus in the morning and 50 minutes on the way home. We just drive him to school.


Have you gone to your school board's meeting and brought this up? I know in our town that's the way to get things done, because there is always a few reporters at the meeting. You would be surprised at the stories that get in the paper, then the local tv stations might get involved.

 

[BrandyC1974]

Because you live in a townhome community, the buses must have permission from the townhome owners. My DD11 rides a wheelchair bus and thankful when we did live in a townhome, the owners gave the bus permission to drive onto their property. I was told it was due to insurance/liability issues.

Hope this helps.

 

[mom2aredhead]

If the kids are being walked by their older siblings, that's their parents choice and not one that I think the school board should get involved in.
We have bus service here. There are several stops you could choose from, and you needed to pick the most convenient one. So I chose the one at the beginning of my development. There is no shelter, no benches, we just stand and wait for the bus, like many other kids in the world.
Sorry, but to expect door to door service is a little much, especially if there are sidewalks in the development and you are all within a mile of the entrance of the bus stop. Maybe the parents can make a schedule and loop around and pick up each others kids and take turns at the bus stop.
And yes, it is often inconvenient having more than one child that are on different sleep schedules, but are you seriously going to ask the school board to have the bus loop through your development and drop your child at the driveway so that you don't have to disturb the little ones nap? Honestly.

 

[emh1129]

Because you live in a townhome community, the buses must have permission from the townhome owners. My DD11 rides a wheelchair bus and thankful when we did live in a townhome, the owners gave the bus permission to drive onto their property. I was told it was due to insurance/liability issues.

Hope this helps.

This is what I was wondering about. The other mother thought that it had to do with it being private property.
But there are a few school vans (with wheelchair access) that drive through the neighborhood so they must have gotten permission for those.

So who should I approach first, then?

 

[emh1129]

but are you seriously going to ask the school board to have the bus loop through your development and drop your child at the driveway so that you don't have to disturb the little ones nap? Honestly.

I listed many reasons as to why I thought it would be better for the school bus to enter the neighborhood and that's the only thing you paid attention to? Hey, thanks for taking the time to read carefully

I'm not asking for door to door service. It would just be nice to drop off kindergarten age children on the street that they actually live on.

And, no, there are no sidewalks in the neighborhood. The kids are always walking on the streets. That's where the safety issue comes into play.

 

[livndisney]

The school bus here doesn't come anywhere near my neighborhood. The school posted the route and the time the bus would (should) be there and you drive to the stop. If no one is at the stop to pick up your child-the bus takes them back to school.

 

[BrandyC1974]

I would suggest going to the townhome community contact person. The more parents that ask about the possibility of the buses coming on property the better the chances. But, then again, they still might say no. So be prepared.

The wheelchair buses probably did get permission, since they would not be on property without it. For wheelchair/special ed, the school board ususally requires that pickup is done at the door of the student (for their safety).

Best of Luck.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm in MA, and in our town, kindergarteners have to be dropped of at their door if the parents request it. - Check your school handbook to see if something similar is printed.

 

[crisi]

It may also be a cost and time saving measure. Every stop a bus makes uses fuel. Every additional road they turn down uses fuel. All stops and extra streets also use time - for some kids they are on the bus half an hour. If walkers can walk a mile or more, bus kids can as well.

 

[emh1129]

It may also be a cost and time saving measure. Every stop a bus makes uses fuel. Every additional road they turn down uses fuel. All stops and extra streets also use time - for some kids they are on the bus half an hour. If walkers can walk a mile or more, bus kids can as well.

I agree it might be a cost and time saving measure. I just think that there are places to cut corners in order to trim the budget and I'm not sure that this should be one of them.

I'm actually not sure if there are any 'walkers.' Would they let k/1/2 kids leave the school alone to walk a mile home? I'd be surprised if that was the case.

 

[princessmom29]

Here bus stops may be no closer together than 2 tenths of a mile. If everyone got dropped at their door the last kid would be getting off at 6pm or later!

 

[crisi]

I agree it might be a cost and time saving measure. I just think that there are places to cut corners in order to trim the budget and I'm not sure that this should be one of them.

I'm actually not sure if there are any 'walkers.' Would they let k/1/2 kids leave the school alone to walk a mile home? I'd be surprised if that was the case.

In my district, yes....a mile and a half. In a Minnesota winter. If you live within 1 1/2 miles, you walk or your parents drive you. And this is the way its always been.

 

[SLK1]

A lot of the where the bus stops has to do with timing (do they have to go pick up other schools after dropping off your kids, are drivers limited on time and not able to get overtime so must stick to scheduled drop-offs?) and also fuel consumption. My son's driver was so nice to let him off at the end of our street but then said she found out she could lose her job for not dropping him off at the designated stop. Strange, but that is their policy. In Orlando, you have to live outside of 2 miles to get a bus, and it can be a hardship for some with little kids. But, I also think it's the school board's job to educate the children, and not exactly their job to make the walk to/from the bus stop comfortable. That is up to the parents.

 

[jessica52877]

Where I used to live there was an elementary school within a mile of everyone's house, no bus service unless it was for a handicapped child. So ALL children walked unless parents picked them up and there was no huge carpool line like where I live now. Middle school you had to live more then 2 miles , kids could ride their bikes, there were about 15 kids that rode the bus total and they also were not allowed to drop the kids off at their house (although she did it 1 or 2x in a rain storm).

I think if within a mile of the bus stop then it is fair. It is the parents responsibility to make sure their child is dry, safe and warm. If they don't provide and umbrella or care to make sure they get where they need to then that falls on the parents, not the school.

 

[natnelliesmom]

My DD5 gets picked up at the top of our driveway for kindergarten. But that will change when she goes to middle school. Then she'll have to walk 3/4 of a mile on a narrow winding street to the end to catch the bus.
We have no sidewalks, or streetlights. So in the winter- mornings she'll be hoofing it in the dark (7:30 am pick up).
I already know that I am going to be making a complaint to the school and bus company. My argument is that there are no sidewalks for her to safely stay off the road.
The bus will be coming down our street!
I feel your anxiety! With all the concern about keeping our kids safe- it does seem odd that it's acceptable to drop kids off so far from their homes.
How does that work for kindergarten? I know our district, also CT, will not drop a kindergarten child off the bus unless a parent is there.
Interesting question!
-Sarah

 

[Melrosgirl]

Busses don't come in our development either. They drop off at the entrance which is a busy street also. They say they will when our development is completely finished (only half the houses are up now). The roads need to be "dedicated" to the township first. Right now the roads are the responsibility of the builder and not the township. When the township takes over, the busses are allowed to come into the neighborhood. could be another 3 years.