Transportation Guide for Parents

• The bus driver is in charge of the bus, please follow the driver’s instructions. 
• Take your seat promptly and remain seated until the bus stops.
• Keep arms and head inside the bus at all times.
• Keep aisles clear at all times.
• Never throw anything out of the bus windows.
• Carry only baggage that can fit comfortably in your lap.
• Large and/or dangerous objects will not be allowed on the bus.  This also includes instruments that cannot fit safely on your lap and skateboards.
• Delayed Buses: There are extenuating circumstances that could cause a bus to be delayed.  Parents should wait 10 minutes after the assigned time before contacting Transportation.
• The bus driver is authorized to assign seats.
• If you are not crossing the street, move away from the bus quickly and do not return to pick up a dropped item until the bus has pulled away.
• When crossing the street, walk forward in front of the bus far enough (10ft.) to be able to see the driver’s face.  Wait for the bus driver’s signal to cross and then cross in front of the bus.

Bus Rider Eligibility:  Eligibility for bus transportation is based on Tulsa Public Schools’ Walk Zone policy and Enrollment policies:

• Elementary age students must live over one and one-half (1.5) miles from their home school
• Middle (junior high) and high school age students must live over two (2) miles from their home school
• All transfer students who are not enrolled in a magnet program are not eligible for transportation.
• Eligibility for any student to ride a bus is conditional on good behavior, observance of bus rules, and the district’s behavior response plan.

Buses are authorized to stop only at stops listed on the route.  Except for emergencies, drivers are not allowed to alter routes.  In establishing bus stops, safety is the first consideration. Centralized bus stops are placed on district property or public property, where possible. Every effort is made to pick up and drop off on the right side of the road but this is not always possible. 

The same type of conduct expected of students while in the classroom is expected while waiting for and while riding the bus. Behavior that creates disorder on a bus can distract the driver and threaten the safety of all passengers. Misconduct on a bus may result in a conduct report to the school. Depending on the seriousness of the misconduct, bus privileges may be suspended after a single offense. A school bus suspension is not a suspension from school attendance and does not provide a legal excuse for non-attendance.  If a student is suspended from the bus, parents would be expected to arrange alternative transportation.  

Parents/guardians are important to ensuring the smooth operation of the school transportation system. If safety rules are ignored, people can get hurt. You can help to promote and maintain safety in many ways:

• Familiarize your student with his/her bus stop.
• Help teach your student the importance of proper behavior aboard the bus and at the bus stop.
• Go over the rules and responsibilities of riding the bus with your student.
• Be sure your student knows the rules and understands the consequences of not following them.
• Ensure that your student is at the bus stop ten (10) minutes early in the morning.
• Work on reducing the number of loose items your student brings on the bus.
• Instruct your student not to get off the bus unless it is their stop. If the driver misses their stop, the student should notify the driver and they will be returned to their designated bus stop as soon as possible. This also applies if the student is on the wrong bus.

Occasionally, the parent or caregiver of a student is not present at a bus stop to receive the child on-time. For student safety, students in pre-K through 2nd grade must be picked-up at the bus stop by a parent or sibling (4th grade or older). Students who are not picked-up will be taken back to their school site or the East Terminal. Parents or guardians will be contacted by the school or transportation depending on which location the student is being taken to. Unsuccessful attempts to contact the parent may result in contacting the  Department of Human Services (DHS), Campus Police, and the Tulsa Police Department being called. 

Parents who are not able to meet their child as usual are advised to contact the Transportation department. 

Every effort is made to communicate with parents/guardians when a student is involved in a vehicle accident with injuries that occur in the afternoon. In the morning transportation will communicate with the school who will have staff available to communicate with parents in a more expeditious manner. Please keep current contact information on file with the district!

Any cost resulting from student vandalism to buses will be charged to the student's parents. The students will not be allowed to ride until reimbursement for damages is received.