Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Designation of school bus stops
It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent or
designee to determine the location of all school bus stops which shall be
approved annually by the districts' board of
education. Authority to designate or relocate subsequent school bus stops may
be delegated by the board of education to the superintendent or designee. Bus
stops and a time schedule shall be adopted and put in force by the board not
earlier than thirty days prior to and not later than ten days after the
beginning of the school term.
(B) School bus stop location
Policies and procedures shall be
developed by administrators and transportation personnel to ensure school bus
stop locations are designated in safe locations and shall include the
following:
(1) Pupils in grades
kindergarten through eight may be required to walk up to one-half mile to a
designated bus stop.
(2) School bus
stop locations shall provide for the maximum safety of pupils giving
consideration to distance from residence, traffic volume, physical
characteristics, visibility and weather conditions.
(3) School bus stops shall be established on
the residence side of all four-lane highways and on the residence side of other
roadways posing potential hazards to students as determined by school bus
owners.
(4) School bus stops shall
be located at a distance from the crest of a hill or curve to allow motorists
traveling at the posted speed to stop within the sight distance. If the line of
sight is less than five hundred feet in either direction, a request shall be
submitted to the appropriate authority to install an approved "school bus stop
ahead" sign at least five hundred feet in advance of the school bus
stop.
(5) Each pupil shall be
assigned and required to use a specific school bus stop except in unusual
circumstances as approved by the school bus owner or designee.
(6) Each pupil shall be assigned a designated
place of safety on the residence side of the roadway on which the vehicle is
scheduled to stop. Driver must account for each pupil at designated place of
safety before leaving. Pupils are not to proceed to their residence until the
school bus has departed.
(7)
The school bus driver shall use the established route
and make stops only at points designated by the school vehicle owner or the
administrator who is authorized to designate such stops. School districts and
community schools offering pupil transportation shall have a documented routing
plan in place for all established routes.
(8)
The school bus
driver shall operate the bus on the time schedule for the established route and
shall wait for pupils if ahead of schedule.
(C) School bus stop procedures
All school districts and bus owners
shall develop policies and procedures for drivers
making
school bus stops for purposes of
loading or unloading pupils in accordance with section
4511.75 of the Revised Code and
with procedures described in the Ohio preservice driver training manual
. The following shall
be included in those policies and
procedures:
(1)
Student warning lights shall be activated approximately
three-hundred feet prior to a stop whenever practical. A strobe light may be
used if available and if conditions warrant.
(2) The bus shall be stopped near the right
side of the paved or traveled portion of the roadway.
(3) The bus shall be stopped along the drive
way entrance or along the curb when picking up or discharging passengers with
special needs which require the use of special equipment.
(4) The parking brake shall be set at all
stops whenever pupils are loading or unloading.
Operators of vehicles equipped with an approved brake interlock
device are exempt from these requirements to set the parking
brake
(5) The transmission
shall be placed into the neutral gear for both manual and automatic
transmissions.
(6) The driver must
use an approved hand signal and eye contact with students outside the bus at
any stop where students are in the process of loading
and unloading .
(D)
Each bus shall have a detailed route sheet on board which shall include the
following:
(1) Direction to designated
stops;
(2) Time schedule;
(3) Designated stop;
(4) Driver-designated place of
safety;
(5) Number of riders at
each stop location and residence side; and
(6) List identifying road
hazards.
(E) If
practical, each route shall have a responsible student designated to assist a
substitute bus driver with each route.
