School Bus Regulations

Meeting the Bus

• Pupils should be on time. It is recommended that pupils be at their bus stop five minutes before the scheduled arrival time of the bus.
• Parent/guardian is required to accompany younger students (prek-2) to the bus stop. Pupils should wait off the traveled portion of the roadway until the bus comes to a complete stop.
• Pupils, while waiting at a bus stop, should respect the property of the home and business owners in the area.
• If pupils must cross the roadway to get to the bus after its arrival at the stopping point, they are required to cross ten feet in front of the bus, and only under the direction of the driver. Never should a pupil cross behind a bus. Pupils should never chase the bus due to danger zones being within 10 feet of all area around the bus.
• Pupils should board the bus immediately and with due speed, sitting three to a seat, taking the rear seats, first or as directed by the driver.
• Female pupils are to sit on the left side of the bus directly behind the driver’s seat. Male pupils are to sit on the right side of the bus.
• Pupils are permitted to ride only the bus to which they are assigned, and will be picked up and released by the drover only at their regular stops. Should it be necessary for a student to ride another bus, or to get off at a different stop, written permission from the parent or guardian, with approval by the principal, must be presented to the bus driver. NO change will be made in the location of bus stops or bus routes without approval of the transportation office.
• School buses do not run roads that are two tenths of a mile or less for elementary students or roads that are three tenths of a mile or less for middle/high school students. The distance between designated stop swill be no less than one tenth of a mile.

Conduct on the Bus

• Pupils should remain seated while the bus is in motion. Hands, head, or any part of the body should never be extended from the windows of the bus.
• Pupils should remain reasonable quiet so as not to distract the bus driver, and should obey the driver’s directions promptly.
• Pupils are permitted to talk in a normal conversational manner. Use of profanity or obscene and suggestive language will not be tolerated from any student.
• For sanitary and safety reasons, consuming food and drinks (including chewing gum) will not be allowed on the buses. All school approved lunches/snack should remain in unopened containers and should never occupy a seat or block a passageway,
• Radio and other related electronic equipment are not permitted on school buses without prior approval from driver or school administrator.
• Elementary students are not permitted to use a cell phone or personal electronic communication devices while on school buses.
• Middle School and High School students: Cell phone and personal electronic communication devices may be allowed for off-site events and activities, including all school-sponsored events and/or field trips, transportation- including daily bus transport, athletic events, multiple instructional settings, and other non-building specific instructional opportunities that do not occur on the high school campus with prior approval from the teacher or school administrator.
• Combustible or inflammable materials are not to be carried on the school bus.
• The use of tobacco, in any form, is prohibited. Smoking by pupils or other passengers is forbidden. • Pupils should use caution in order to assure that objects carried in their pockets are attached to their clothing do not mark, scratch, or tear bus seats. Willful damage to a bus must be paid for by the pupil performing the act.
• Alcoholic beverages and other drug-related intoxicants are prohibited on school buses.
• To use or tamper with the emergency door is strictly forbidden, except during an emergency.
• Fighting, scuffing, or harassment of other passengers will not be tolerated.
• Animals, including pets, reptiles, insects, etc., are not permitted on school buses.

Video/Audio Monitoring Systems

• Students riding buses equipped with the Video/Audio Monitoring Systems are subject to be filmed. A tape filmed on a school bus will only be viewed by Henry County School Personnel.

Code of Conduct

• While riding on a school bus, students are subject to all the rules are regulations described in the Code of Student Conduct. The bus driver is in charge of all passengers and has the authority to assign seats and make any other arrangements deemed necessary to maintain a safe and orderly environment. Students are required to oy the directives of the driver. Disruptive behavior and infractions of the school rules may result in administrative action. Recommended dispositions: Students Conference; Parent Conference; In-School Suspension; Out-of-School Suspension; Bus Suspension; and Revocation of Bus Riding Privileges. If you have any additional questions with problems relative to the transportation of your child, please feel free to contact the school principal or transportation office.

Leaving the Bus

• Pupils must remain seated until the bus comes to a complete stop.
• Parent/Guardian is required to meet their younger students (prek-2) at the stop. If a parent or guardian is not present, the child will be taken back to school.
• If pupils must cross a roadway, they are to do so at a distance oat least ten feet in front of the bus, never behind the bus. Pupil must not cross a roadway until driver has signaled that it is safe to do so.
• Pupils are to leave the bus in an orderly manner and with due speed, walking quickly and directly away from the bus.

All school buses owned by Henry County Schools are posted with a “NO TRESPASSING – AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY “ sign located on the steps at the entrance door of the school bus. Buses are posted in this manner to help insure the safe transportation of students.

View a PDF copy of the Henry County Schools Pupil Transportation 647-3704 Regulations for Pupils Riding School Buses.