Transportation:

Planning and Funding:

Route Planning

General requirements—

Buses operated by the District will run on routes proposed by the Board and approved by the State Office of Education. The District will provide the State Office of Education all information requested by that office for the approval of any route.

The Board will not propose routes for which a student allowance or subsistence allowance accomplishes the needed transportation at less cost.

Routes proposed by the Board must:

1. Traverse the most direct public route;

2. Be reasonably cost effective related to other feasible alternatives;

3. Provide adequate safety;

4. Traverse roads that are constructed and maintained in a manner that does not cause property damage; and

5. Include an economically adequate number of students.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-600-6 (May 18, 2012)

Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations, p. 71 (2004)

Number of students—

The minimum number of regular students required to establish a route is ten; the minimum number of students with disabilities required to establish a route is five. If a route is required for less than these numbers, the Board will propose such a route to the State Office of Education for approval.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-600-6B (May 18, 2012)

Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations, p. 71 (2004)

Bus stops—

The Board will designate safe areas for bus stops. To promote efficiency, the minimum distance between bus stops will be 3/10 of a mile. Bus routes shall avoid, whenever possible, bus stops on dead-end roads. A student is expected to walk to bus stops up to one and one half miles from home depending on the age and ability of the student. Special education students are expected to walk to bus stops commensurate with their Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Utah Admin. Rules R277-600-6C (May 18, 2012)

Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations, p. 71 (2004)

Roads—

A bus route may follow only public roads that are constructed and maintained at such standards that the condition of the road will not subject the passengers on the bus to undue hazard and will not subject the District or any of its employees to liability for injury or property damage.

Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations p. 72 (2004)

Changes—

Whenever a bus route is extended to pick up additional children, the Board will analyze extra costs and time and obtain prior approval from the state Office of Education. The District will consider whether student reimbursement will be more economical.

Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations p. 71 (2004)

Routes as alternatives to construction—

When the District is not using facilities efficiently, the Board, with permission from the State Office Education, will examine the use of bus routes as an alternative to building construction.

Building construction alternatives include elementary double sessions, year-round school, and attendance across district boundaries.

Utah Admin. Rules R277-600-6G (May 18,2012)

Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations, p. 72 (2004)

Planning process—

In order to establish bus routes that will adequately meet the needs of pupils, the Board or District Pupil Transportation Director will procure a map of the area served by a particular school or school system. Information on the road conditions, railroad crossings and other factors that might affect the particular operation should be recorded on the map along with the location of homes and the number of school age children in each.

Satisfactory school bus stops should be identified along streets and highways where buses can travel with the least amount of risk. The number of pupils to be transported and the distance to be traveled are primary factors in allocating equipment for a particular area. The District should assign pupils to specific stops according to walking distances, grade level and school attended. The District will give special attention to handicapped students.

Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations § 103.08

Surveys/schedules—

Bus routes, stops, and schedules will be developed by the District Pupil Transportation Director following the processes and procedures outlined in the “Routing and Scheduling” section of the Driver Guidelines in the Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations, including review of maps, surveys of existing and proposed routes and stops, and other methods of planning and evaluation.

Standards for Utah School Buses and Operations, p. 76-78 (2004)