Ellensburg School District

• Safest way to ride a bus is for student’s to listen to the Bus Driver’s directions and follow them immediately.
• School bus drivers often arrange assigned seating, this is for the safety of all on board, including the driver.
• Students must follow emergency exit drill procedures as directed. Students shall not tamper with emergency doors/equipment.

• Morgan Middle School students must ride toward the front of their route bus and not beyond the first Emergency exit. School buses can accommodate up to 2 secondary students per seat.
• Elementary students should sit in their grade level section. Unless driver instructs otherwise, school buses can acommodate up to 3 elementary students per seat. Kindergarten up front, then 1^st, 2^nd...etc, with 5^th in the back.
• Students must stay seated quietly in their seats, facing forward (out of the aisle) while the bus is in motion. Students are not to get up unless given permission from the driver and the bus has come to a full stop
• Students must keep the aisles and emergency exits clear at all times
• Students may take only those musical instruments that can be secured on the student's lap or between their legs and that won't disrupt the loading and unloading of students
• Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself
• No bullying of any kind
• Be courteous, refrain from the use of profane language. Profanity directed at the driver may result in a bus suspension.
• Students shall observe classroom conduct while on the bus. Noise shall be kept to a minimum, and no obscene gestures.
• Windows may be opened with the driver’s permission. Windows are typically only allowed to be opened halfway and are to be closed at the request of the driver and upon exiting the bus.
• Keep all body parts inside the bus
• Do not throw trash on floor or anything out the window
• No talking or distracting sounds will be made while bus is at a designated railroad crossing
• Give proper name when asked
  *Refusal to give driver name may result in an automatic suspension

• Eating or drinking [except water] on the Route bus to/from school is prohibited to prevent choking or hazards to other passengers
• Students are requested to limit cell phone use on the school bus. If the cell phone becomes a problem, students must obey the driver’s directive to put it away or have it kept by driver until student departs the bus.
• No breakable (glass, ceramic, etc) items. No bulky items can be brought on the bus that cannot be placed on the floor between student and wall.
• No weapons, firearms, flammables (including all aerosols), unbagged skateboards, unbagged rollerblades, glass jars, any type of balloon, body sprays or heavily scented lotions or hand sanitizers
• With the exception of Service Animals, all forms of animal life, including insects, are prohibited on the bus.
• No tobacco (of any kind), vape pens, dab pens, e-cigarettes, drugs or alcohol products, or ignition source of any kind allowed on the bus
• No laser pointers
• Students should not bring sharp tools or permanent markers that could be used to vandalize the bus. Students must refrain from any type of vandalism. Parents/guardians will be required to pay for all damages for which their child is responsible. Students are suspended from bus services until all restitutions are paid. 

• Load and unload in an orderly manner and remain within the bus driver's view at all times. No pushing or shoving.
• In the afternoons, at Morgan Middle School/Ellensburg High School, students must remain away from the edge of the curb as buses arrive or depart. For safety’s sake, students should never be close enough to reach out and touch a moving bus.
• Arrive at the bus stop five (5) minutes prior to bus arrival time
• When departing the bus, students needing to cross the roadway, shall cross in front of the bus only after verifying it is safe to do so by obtaining the consent of the driver with a hand signal to cross.
• Never cross behind the bus
• Students shall stand away from roadway or curb when any bus is approaching or departing a bus stop or school
• Students shall not check their mailbox while the bus is at their stop
• Once the bus doors are closed and the bus is leaving school or the morning bus stop, they are not expected re-open the door for late students
• Students shall never chase a departing bus

1. Directive from driver to modify behavior or receive consequences
2. Directive from driver to move to a different seat as assigned by driver
3. Collaboration with school to assign consequences affecting school activities
4. Continued disruptive behavior on the way to school despite driver directive—student may be met by school administrator upon arrival and a misconduct report filed
5. Continued disruptive behavior after picked up at school despite driver directive—student may be returned to school for parent pickup and a misconduct report filed
6. Danger to themselves or others—student may be met by Law Enforcement and parent pickup at roadside location
7. Several misconduct reports filed may result in bus suspension, depending on severity and repeat offenses
8. Students should not bring sharp tools or permanent markers that could be used to vandalize the bus. Students must refrain from any type of vandalism. Parents/guardians will be required to pay for all damages for which their child is responsible. Students are suspended from bus services until all restitutions are paid. 

Misconduct report
**Misconduct reports tell what happened, what expectation was not met, and the students involved.

Each misconduct report comes with a consequence, depending on how the action affects the safe operation of the bus: 

**Warning by the driver. Repeated warnings of the same direction by the driver may lead to suspension.

**Specific seat assignment by the driver. This may be short term or long term, based on student’s ability to demonstrate safe ridership.

**Suspension from all routes buses for a specific number of days or weeks. This varies based on students actions affecting safety.

**Extreme behavior--expulsion from all route buses for the remainder of the school year, determined by Transportation Director and/or Principal & Admin of student’s school.

Students must submit an Electronic Routing Request Form EVERY YEAR before they are assigned a bus stop for the current school year. Routing efficiency is based on the specific requests submitted. Please use the link found at the top of this page. If you are having difficulty, please contact Transportation at 509-925-8100, press 1. Students not listed on a driver’s route guide may be denied access.

Please communicate address changes to your student’s school (update Skyward) before requesting routing changes. Allow up to five (5) school days from the time you request to the time your student may begin riding the school bus. We will do our best to be as timely as we can; however, we may need to temporarily assign your student to a stop already in service.

Students are assigned to one bus stop in the morning and one bus stop in the afternoon. Students are assigned Elementary routes within the boundary (Attendence Zone) of their assigned school. Any daycare addresses being requested must be within their student’s school Attendance Zone.

Mid-year change in address cannot be supported by transportation unless student transfers to school in zone. Students remaining with out-of-zone school requesting a bus results in assisnment to closest bus stop for that school, regardless of proximity to home address.

Occasionally, students may need routing to a bus stop other than their assigned stop (Elementary must be in their zone). Students are not allowed to depart the bus at any stop other than the assigned stop without prior permission from school office via parent/guardian. Bus passes are official documents generated in the student’s school office, and are not handwritten notes by parents. Student “messages” are not bus passes and may result in the driver’s denial of transport.

Some bus stop assignments are specifically community based and are designed to service as many students as possible by use of sidewalks. The walkzone is mandated by OSPI to which the district is not obligated to make exceptions. The walkzone may include your home address to the school or your home address to the bus stop.

In addition, per board policy, the Transportation Department is limited to less travel on some rural roads if not fiscally sound and/or not servicing 5 or more students. The district also limits use of private railroad crossings for the safety of students on board. Bus stops assigned to students affected by these stipulations are designed as Parent Responsibility Stops, and drivers are unable to leave students unattended, so families should plan accordingly.

Students are assigned to buses by Route Number. Route numbers are posted on the black and white display to the left of the bus entry door. Route numbers are not the same as bus numbers.

If you pass a bus with red lights flashing, you might get a visit from local LEOs. The Washington State Patrol and local law enforcement will take a few minutes to refresh your knowledge on how to drive safely around buses that are picking up and dropping off our children. 

It is not the intention of the driver to allow vehicles to continue passing the bus while Ambers are flashing. The Ambers WARN motorists that the REDS are about to be activated, and the stop paddle extends. The safest response you can make to Ambers or Reds is to just stop in anticipation of students boarding or disembarking the bus.

The law states the fine (up to $500) for failure to stop for a school bus cannot be reduced, suspended, or waived. Any school bus driver can report you. If you get a ticket for failure to stop for a school bus, you will pay the full amount.

We cannot stress enough how important it is to practice safe driving, especially when children are present.

For more information about driver safety-CLICK HERE.

Students may be delayed due to a school bus breakdown, an accident, or another kind of emergency. In most emergency situations, students will be delivered to their planned destination following the emergency.

Inclement Weather:  The district reports to local media via Flash Alert. There is an app you can get for your phone for immediate notification.

Other Parent notification:  The district uses (Edulog) Parent Portal to communicate with parents of pertinent routing information. See the bottom of page for more information on Parent Portal.

• Remain calm
• Do not attempt to pick your student up at the location of the emergency
• Be ready to meet your student at the location where you had planned to meet him or her before the emergency
• Be available at one of the phone numbers on file with your student’s school
• Follow directions given by District officials