Bus Drop Off Policy

Dear Parents of Kindergarten and First Grade Students:

The current expectation of the Central Bucks School District transportation department is that a parent, guardian or responsible older sibling will meet kindergarten and first grade students for drop-off at the bus stop or will be within sight distance.  When no responsible party is available, bus drivers will contact the school and transportation office and return the child to school or to the transportation office where the parents can be contacted. All special needs students are to be met by a parent/guardian/responsible adult or responsible sibling unless prior arrangements have been documented.  

For the safety of our students, the school board recently approved this procedure as a formal policy.  Since this has been the procedure for some time, families should not experience any change in their drop-off procedure.  Because bus drivers have been educated as to the formalization of the policy, some families may experience some initial questions from their driver.

The intent of these procedures is to enhance the safety of our youngest students. Obviously, there are a lot of dynamics involved in child-care and supervision. Neighbors may provide child-care coverage for each other as adult schedules sometimes conflict with bus stop schedules. Grandparents may be visiting and providing child-care. There are many scenarios that can exist for child-care, and it is sometimes difficult for bus drivers to determine who is an authorized caregiver for children when the standard bus stop "routine" has changed. 

The best practice is to communicate with your bus driver if a change in the bus stop child-care routine take place.  For example, please explain to the driver if it is OK to release your child to a neighbor if the parent or older sibling is not available. Working and communicating with your child's bus driver will help everyone add extra security for our youngest students.

Questions about the policy may be directed to 267-893-4000 or through the website at www.cbsd.org/departments/transportation/contact-us.