Q. How do I
arrange transportation for a student?
A. To arrange
transportation, the student must first be enrolled at the school. If you move, but still live within the
boundary for the same school, your new address must be given to the school with
proof of residency. The school will
then contact the Transportation Department with the student’s information. At that time, a bus stop will be assigned,
and the school will be given the bus number, the approximate bus stop
pick-up time, and the stop location.
Q. Why is it
important to change a student’s address at the school?
A. The address that a student leaves from in the morning to ride the bus is maintained at the school level. That information is provided to the Transportation Department electronically by the school database and is the basis of student assignment to bus stops; therefore, any information that has changed for the student must be changed at the school. The student’s school is the primary record keeper for ALL student information.
Q. How can my child get picked up or dropped
off at a daycare provider’s location?
A. The daycare address must be within the attendance area of the school and outside of the walking area for that school. The parent must provide the school with the daycare provider’s name, address, and phone number.
Q. How is a bus
stop established?
A. Bus stops are established by using several factors, which include walking conditions, walking distance to the stop, and road accessibility. We anticipate that under acceptable walking conditions or lightly traveled roads, new stops are ¼ mile apart. On rural county roads, we expect a student to be able to access a stop at a neighbor’s driveway.
Q. Why do
students have to walk to a bus stop when the bus drives past the house?
A. In areas where walk conditions are
acceptable, students are required to be picked up at centralized stops for cost
and time efficiency. Two students can
be loaded at one stop faster and at less cost than the bus stopping at two
separate stops. We encourage parent
supervision at the bus stop. Board of
Education Regulation
441 stipulates that
we will endeavor to route buses so that students will have a maximum of ½ of a mile to walk to a bus stop,
exclusive of private driveways and roadways.
Please refer to Board of Education Reg. #441 for
additional information.
Q. My child’s bus
is overcrowded. Can some children be
placed on another bus?
A.
Contact the Transportation Department and ask that your call be referred
to the Manager for your child’s bus. If
the bus has three (3) elementary students to a seat or two (2) middle or high
school students to a seat it will seem crowded. However, it will not be overcapacity. Our goal is to fully utilize all of the space on all buses in our
fleet. Please refer to
Board of Education Reg. #441 for additional information.
Q. What are
acceptable walking conditions?
A. Please refer to Board of Education Reg. #441
Q. We live within the walking boundary, but
very close to a bus stop for my child’s school. May my child ride the bus from the stop?
A. NO. We do not permit a child to ride a school bus if you are within the walking area.
Q. I have been told that I live in the walking area and no bus service is available. Why do some students have to walk to school?
A. Some schools have an area where
transportation is not provided, and that is called the “Walking Area”. Please refer to Board of Education Reg. #441 for additional
information..
Q. Who do I call if I don’t like the location of a bus stop?
A. You can contact the Transportation
Department, and the placement of the stop will be reviewed. Stops are used by multiple students and are
not always ideal to everyone. We expect
that students will have to walk to stops, and the stop may not be in direct
line of sight from your residence.
Sometimes there are numerous issues to be considered in relocating a
stop, and we may not be successful in meeting everyone’s expectations. We encourage parental supervision at the bus
stop.
Q. Who do I contact when there is a problem at the bus stop?
A. Frederick County Public Schools is not responsible for student behavior at the bus stop. We assume responsibility when the students board the bus, and it ends when they exit the bus. If there is a problem at the bus stop, then you should contact your local law enforcement agency.
Q. My student needs to ride home on a different bus or be dropped off at an alternate location for one day. What do I need to do?
A. If your student on occasion will be riding home on a bus other than the one to which he/she is assigned (i.e. riding home with a friend or to an alternate stop), a signed note from the parents/guardians of all students concerned, AND written administrator approval from the school, MUST be provided to the bus driver before boarding.
Q. My student is having a problem with the bus driver. Should I go to the bus stop to talk with the driver?
A. NO.
We recommend that anytime you have a concern with something that happens
on the bus that you call or talk with you student’s school administrators. Going to the bus stop puts everyone in a
defensive position without all the information, and it can easily turn into a
confrontation, which is inappropriate for the students to witness. Drivers are trained to try and avoid
confrontations to the point of closing the door and driving away. Federal law prohibits blocking the doorway
or interfering with the operation of the bus.
Q. My student left an item (i.e. coat, glasses, instrument, retainer, books, etc.) on the bus. How does he/she get it back?
Drivers and substitute drivers check their buses after each run. Contact the Transportation Department. Items usually are kept on the bus for a week. If not claimed by then, the items are then turned in to the Transportation Office or the school to which the bus is assigned. You may help by labeling all of your child’s belongings with the child’s name and school.
Q. Why did the driver not stop at the bus stop when my student was running late, or did not wait for my student to get to the bus stop?
A. We make a concerted effort to be consistent
on the time we start the route. After
the first stop, many things can affect the arrival time at subsequent stops, so
even the most conscientious driver will vary by no more than a few
minutes. Students are told to be at the
bus stop five (5) minutes prior to normal arrival of the bus to allow for those
variances, and to be waiting where they are visible to the bus driver as the
bus approaches the stop. Drivers are
required by law to activate their yellow lights a minimum of 100 feet prior to
stopping and turning on their red lights.
If drivers do not see any students present, they are not required to
stop. They are also not required to
wait for tardy students. Usually,
drivers will not leave students if they are close to the stop and making an
effort to get there as quickly as they can.
The loading and unloading process is the most dangerous part of the bus
ride, and students are safest when they are at the stop before the bus arrives,
not running for it after it shows up.
Q. The bus did not show up on time for my student. How long should he/she wait at the bus stop?
A. Your child should arrive at the bus stop at
least five (5) minutes prior to the arrival time of the bus. If there is a substitute driver, the times
may not be consistent with the regular time period. Wait 15 minutes AFTER the scheduled pick-up time, then contact
the Transportation Department.
Q. What are the procedures for suspending a student’s riding privilege?
A. At the start of each school year, parents
and students are given the Frederick County Public Schools Calendar Handbook,
which outlines bus rules and consequences.
Each student is also given a “Parent Letter” to be signed by both the
student and parent and returned to the driver.
The “Parent Letter” outlines the expectations and rules on the bus. Student violation of these bus safety rules
can result in verbal warnings, seat assignments, or loss of a riding
privilege. A severe incident may call
for a bus driver to refer the matter to the principal without taking any
previous steps, and the student’s riding privileges can be revoked at the end
of the bus run. A Referral form must be
completed by the driver and turned in to the school administration for further
action. We ask all parents to support
safe bus behavior by providing consequences to support safety when the
student’s riding privilege has been suspended.
For more detailed information regarding Bus Discipline
Procedures, please refer to FCPS Reg. No. 400-57, which can be accessed via our
website at http://www.fcps.org/dept/legal/400-57.pdf.
Q. Why was my student told they are not permitted to use their cell phone and or carry certain items on the bus?
A. FCPS Policy as outlined in the Calendar
Handbook, states the following:
·
No eating,
drinking, or vulgar language
·
Only those large
items that can be held safely on your lap, placed on the window side of the
seat beside you, or placed on the floor between your feet may be brought onto
the bus. Items that are sharp-edged,
glass, or subject to spillage are not allowed.
Animals, skateboards, and scooters are not permitted.
· Students are not permitted to use cell phones during the ride to and from school. Phones should be turned off and stored out of sight.
Q. My student was suspended from the bus, and I have questions about why he/she was suspended. Who do I contact?
A. The school administration is responsible for overseeing student bus behavior issues. The driver’s authority to suspend a student’s riding privilege is limited to ONE DAY. Additional consequences, including additional days of bus suspension, are handled by the school administration. School administration is responsible for investigating the incident, which may include talking with other students on the bus. The Transportation Department is involved when the driver does not follow procedures.
Q. How safe is bus transportation when the school bus doesn’t have seat belts?
A. School bus transportation is the safest form of travel in the United States with over 24 million students transported daily nationwide on 450,000 buses traveling over 4.3 billion miles per year. Over 10-year period, only 1/3 of 1 percent of all fatal crashes involved a student on a school bus. School bus safety is based on closely spaced and padded seats on a large framed vehicle that is mandated by Federal Law. The State of Maryland has additional requirements, including a limit on the life of the vehicle. The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration tests have shown that lap belts only (which is what New York, New Jersey, and Florida have on their buss) would result in more fatalities and/or injuries than they would save. Usually, when a fatality occurs on a school bus, it is when another large vehicle (dump truck, tractor trailer, or train) collides with a school bus, and the victim is sitting at the point of impact. Nationwide statistics indicate that your child is 63 times safer inside the school bus than going to school in your car.
Q. What kind of screening process do drivers go through to make certain they are qualified to be around children?
A. You may look at the website section entitled
“Become a School Bus Driver” (http://www.fcps.org/dept/hr/BusDrivernb.htm) to see all
of the criteria a bus driver must meet before they are permitted to drive. Briefly, they are fingerprinted, a criminal
background check is initiated, their driver’s license is reviewed, references
are checked, a drug/alcohol test is conducted (including pre-employment and random
testing), a DOT Physical is obtained, and new drivers are required to go
through 30 plus hours of training.
Q. How is inclement weather delay or cancellation of school determined?
A. When winter weather is in the
forecast, transportation employees start their day at 3:30 AM to test road
conditions and discuss the situation over two-way radios. While they
cannot drive every road in the county, they try to travel roads
that they feel are a good indicator of county road conditions. They
also discuss road conditions with neighboring county school transportation
officials, and track weather reports via AccuWeather, which provides a
forecasting service for winter weather events that can be accessed 24 hours a
day for up-to-the-minute updates. We also temper that with forecasts from
the National Weather Service. Although AccuWeather is doing a better job
than other forecasters, it is still an imperfect science. Recommendations to delay or close schools
are based on actual observation of road conditions by Transportation Department
staff, communication with neighboring county school transportation officials,
State Highway Administration, County Roads, Maryland State Police, and the
Frederick County Sheriff's Department, as well as the forecast by AccuWeather
and the National Weather Service. We
make our recommendation to the Superintendent by 5:00 AM and communicate the
information to media outlets by 5:30 AM.
For more detailed information regarding Closing of Schools Because of
Weather, Maintenance, or Other Reasons, please refer to FCPS Reg. No. 400-2,
which can be accessed via our website at http://www.fcps.org/dept/legal/400-02.pdf.
Q. How do we find out about an inclement weather delay, early dismissal, or cancellation of school?
A. The FCPS Calendar Handbook lists a small
portion of TV and radio stations that make announcements regarding school
closings, delays, and early dismissals.
A complete listing of radio stations announcing school closings, delays,
and early dismissals is listed below. For your convenience, the
broadcast frequency (dial number) for each radio station is included:
WFRE 99.9 FM FREDERICK
WFMD 930 AM FREDERICK
WAFY 103.1 FM BRADDOCK HEIGHTS
WARK 1490 AM HAGERSTOWN
WWEG 106.9 FM HAGERSTOWN
WQCM 97.6 FM HAGERSTOWN
WHAG 1410 AM HAGERSTOWN
WJEJ 1240 AM HAGERSTOWN
WTHU 1450 AM THURMONT
WTRI 1520 AM THURMONT
WYCR 98 .5 FM HANOVER
WHVR 1280 AM HANOVER
WGTY 107.7 FM GETTYSBURG
WGET 1320 AM GETTYSBURG
WAYZ 101.5 FM GREEN CASTLE
WCBG 1590 AM GREEN CASTLE
WWMD 101.5 FM WAYNESBORO
WTOP 1500 AM WASHINGTON
WMZQ 98.7FM WASHINGTON WTTR 1470 AM WESTMINSTER
WCRH 90.5 FM WILLIAMSPORT
WBAL 1090 AM BALTIMORE
Information regarding school closings will be televised
on Channel 18 of Frederick Cablevision and on the following TV stations:
WMAR Channel 2
WTTG Channel 5
WJLA Channel 7
WJLA News Channel 8
WUSA Channel 9
WBAL Channel 11
WJZ Channel 13
WHAG Channel 25
NBC Channel 4
FCPS (Cable) Channel 18
Fox Channel 45
WB Channel 54
WETA Channel 26
ITT wire for the hearing impaired through Central Alarm is also available.
Additionally, we communicate changes in school schedules on our Web site and via Find Out First email. You can sign up for email notification of any delay, closure, or unscheduled early dismissal at www.fcps.org. Note: FCPS gets the word out many ways, never knowing which will be fastest for any given family in any particular instance. We recommend that you check any and all sources that work for you.
Q. I have some
other transportation questions, how do I contact Transportation?
A. On the Transportation Page of our website, just above the Director of Transportation’s name, is an e-mail link. You can click on the link and send an e-mail or you may contact us at 301-644-5366.