Transportation

In order to achieve a minimal route time and on-time arrival at school, it will be essential that we maintain the time integrity of routes. Students are required to be at their bus stops 5 minutes prior to their pick up time. Should they not be at their stop, the driver will not wait for them, nor will they return to pick up students. If your child misses the bus, you will need to bring your child to school. Do not chase down the bus on foot or by a vehicle as this creates many safety issues.

Parents/guardians are requested to identify one pick-up and one drop-off location Mon-Fri for the school year. Students will be assigned to the nearest designated bus stop within the prescribed walking distance. 

Students are required to ride the bus they have been assigned. This ensures that the school will know who is actually on a bus, a student can be located in the event of an emergency, and overcrowding is controlled. In the event that a bus has more students than available seating, students may be moved to an alternate bus without advance notice.

Law requires that ALL items carried on a bus must be secured. The items must be held on the lap of a student. Articles may not occupy a seat, be under a seat, be in the aisle or block emergency exits. Hockey and lacrosse sticks along with bats, golf clubs, sleds, skateboards, skis, snowboards, or any other piece of recreational equipment will not be allowed on the buses for student transportation. Critters (i.e. bugs, snakes, fish, hamsters, etc.) are also not allowed on the buses.

No. While stops are fairly consistent from year to year, changes may be made based on student enrollment.

Yes, the district will transport your student. However, the location of the stop is based on the amount of space available on the bus.  If the Transportation Department verifies there is room on a bus, then it is the parent’s responsibility for transporting the child to/from an existing bus stop every day. No new stops or special arrangements will be made for out-of-district students.  If the bus becomes over crowded the out-of- district students will be assigned to an alternative bus stop.

It is our goal to fully utilize all the space on all the buses in our fleet. The term “overloaded” indicates a bus is filled beyond its rated capacity. An overloaded bus will be corrected by the fourth Wednesday after Labor Day. Students are assigned three (3) to a seat. We appreciate that this may feel crowded to your student; however, it is not a situation which would necessitate correction.

LAW REQUIRES that ALL items carried on a bus must be held on the lap of a student. Articles may not occupy a seat, be under a seat, be in the aisle or block emergency exits.

Band instruments that will be allowed on the bus are those that are small enough to be held in the student’s lap and not to exceed the height of the seat or interfere with the seating space of other students. Hockey and lacrosse sticks along with bats, golf clubs, sleds, skateboards, skis, snow boards, or any other piece of recreational equipment will not be allowed on the buses for student transportation.

School districts are NOT required by law to transport regular education children. Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 380.1321 outlines the obligations of the school district IF its board of education elects to provide transportation. Under Article 3 of the Revised School Code, the school district is obligated to provide for the transportation of a special education student if the Individualized Educational Planning Committee (IEPC) has determined that the transportation is a specialized service which is included within and necessary to carry out the student’s IEP.

There are no special laws or regulations for transporting regular education students enrolled in kindergarten. If your district provides transportation, it will be provided in accordance with the requirement of MCL 380.1321, Section 55 of the Pupil Transportation Act, and local district policy with regard to the placement of the bus stop.

No law specifies the maximum distance a student may walk to the bus stop. Spring Lake's distance is up to one mile to school for K-12. Up to one mile to stop for 7-12 and up to one half mile to stop for k-6. Distances may be further for cul-de-sacs, subdivisions, dead-end and one-way roads.

There are many factors which should be taken into consideration when school administrators establish the placement of school bus stops. The basic legal factors are spelled out in MCL 257.1855, but the primary concern is visibility of the bus to other traffic and the consideration of stopping distances necessary for other motor vehicles in order to accomplish safe loading and unloading of the children. In general, state law requires 400 feet of clear and continuous visibility on a highway or roadway where the speed limit is more than 35 miles per hour, and 200 feet where the speed limit is less than 35 miles per hour. There is no state law which specifies a maximum distance between stops.

It is the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian to see that a child gets safely to and from the bus stop. The school district provides transportation as a non-mandated service and establishes placement of the bus stops in accordance with the requirements of the law.