The following Mariposa County Unified School District Transportation Safety Plan has been developed pursuant to California Education Code 39831.3 and is maintained by the Transportation department. The plan shall be revised as required. A copy of this document can be found at each of the school sites in addition to the district office and transportation department.

In order to help ensure the safety and well-being of students, bus drivers, and others, school officials and the Board of Trustees expect students to exhibit appropriate and orderly conduct at all times when using school transportation, including while preparing to ride, or leaving the bus.

The district may deny a student the privilege of using school transportation upon the student's continued disorderly conduct or his/her persistent refusal to submit to the authority of the driver.  (5 CCR 14103)

Education Code 39831.3

(a) The county superintendent of schools, the superintendent of a school district, a charter school, or the owner or operator of a private school that provides transportation to or from a school or school activity shall prepare a transportation safety plan containing procedures for school personnel to follow to ensure the safe transport of pupils. The plan shall be revised as required. The plan shall address all of the following:

(1) Determining if pupils require escort pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 22112 of the Vehicle Code.

(2)   (A) Procedures for all pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to follow as they board and exit the appropriate schoolbus at each pupil’s schoolbus stop.

 (B) Nothing in this paragraph requires a county superintendent of schools, the superintendent of a school district, a    charter school, or the owner or operator of a private school that provides transportation to or from a school or school activity, to use the services of an onboard schoolbus monitor, in addition to the driver, to carry out the purposes of this paragraph.

(3) Boarding and exiting a schoolbus at a school or other trip destination.

(4) Procedures to ensure that a pupil is not left unattended on a schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, or youth bus.

(5) Procedures and standards for designating an adult chaperone, other than the driver, to accompany pupils on a school pupil activity bus.

(b) A current copy of a plan prepared pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be retained by each school subject to the plan and made available upon request to an officer of the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

Authority of the Driver

Pupils transported in a school bus or a school pupil activity bus shall be under the authority of, and responsible directly to, the driver of the bus, and the driver shall be held responsible for the orderly conduct of the pupils while they are on the bus or being escorted across a street, highway or road. Continued disorderly conduct or persistent refusal to the authority of the driver shall be sufficient reason for a pupil to be denied transportation. (5 CCR 14103)

School Bus Drivers – Responsibilities

The school bus driver’s primary responsibility is to safety transport students to and from school and school activities. He/she shall follow procedures contained in the district’s transportation safety plan. The driver shall not require any student to leave the bus en route between home to school or other destination. (5 CCR 14103) The driver’s responsibility starts approximately at the point where the driver can recognize the pupils as the bus approaches or leaves a bus stop.

Child Check Procedures

Prior to exiting the school bus after each scheduled run or while on a field trip, the school bus driver will walk to the back of the bus and check for students that may have been left on the bus. The driver will then press the button that is located at the rear of the bus to turn off the Child Check System. 

General Passenger Safety

Only authorized bus riders are permitted to ride the school bus, and they are required to get on and off at their designated bus stop or other trip designation. An authorized bus rider who desires to get off at a stop other than the normal stop is required to have a note signed by his/her parent and endorsed by the school office. A bus pass will then be issued by the school office.

School Bus Stop

The school bus driver shall stop to load or unload only at a school bus stop designated for pupils by the school district superintendent or person authorized by the superintendent. (VC 22112(b)

School Bus Signal and School Bus Stops

On approach to a school bus stop when pupils are loading or unloading, the school bus driver shall activate an approved amber warning light system, if the school bus is so equipped, beginning 200 feet before the school bus stop. The school bus driver shall deactivate the amber warning light system after reaching the school bus stop and immediately activate the flashing red light system and stop arm, as required on the school bus, at all times when the school bus is stopped for the purpose of loading and unloading pupils. The flashing red lights signal system, amber warning light system, and the stop signal arm shall not be operated at any other place. (VC 22112(a))

Procedures for Student Loading

Students shall wait at designated bus stops and they shall arrive 5 minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive. Students will not run towards the bus when the bus is approaching. Students shall wait twelve (12) feet back from the street/bus or roadway. Students will wait for the bus to come to a complete stop and will not approach the bus until the front door is opened. Students will walk to the nearest available seat and be seated or be directed to a seat by the driver of the bus.

Procedures for Student Unloading

No pre-kindergarten or kindergarten student will be allowed to exit the bus unless there is a parent or guardian present to receive that student. If no parent or guardian is present, the student will be returned to the school. Students shall unload the bus one seat at a time starting from the front of the bus. Students are to depart the bus and go straight home, not cross road to check mailboxes, go to store or to a friend’s house. Students are not to cross the road unless the stop is a red light escort stop and only in front of the bus. Students are not to play around the bus or go behind the bus. Students are not to crawl under the bus to retrieve papers, balls, etc.

Escorting Students

The school bus driver shall escort all pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, who need to cross the highway or private road upon which the school bus is stopped. The driver shall use an approved hand-held "STOP" sign while escorting all pupils. The driver shall keep current on their route sheet stops that require an escorted crossing.  Route sheets shall be maintained in the driver’s assigned bus, as well as in the dispatch office.  Drivers shall also ask at each stop if any student must cross the street on which the bus is parked.

Rules of Conduct at the Bus Stop

Horseplay is not permitted at the bus stop. Respect other people’s property. Don’t run across or play in people’s yards or climb on their trees, fences, or walls. Stay on the walk path and out of the road. Wait completely off the road for the bus, standing twelve (12) feet to the front of the bus as it pulls towards the curb or edge of roadway. DO NOT Approach the bus until the door to the bus is opened. Bus riders need to arrive at their bus stop, no earlier than five minutes before the schedule time of pick-up. Bus drivers will not depart from bus stops before the schedule time.

The bus driver will make every effort to arrive at the bus stop at the schedule time for pick up. If the bus arrives early, the driver will wait until the schedule time before departing. In order to remain on schedule, the driver cannot wait at any stop beyond the schedule pick up time. In the PM take home, some students might be delivered to their stops earlier than scheduled. This could occur when a student is absent and the driver bypasses the stop. All AM and PM stops are on the MCUSD web site under transportation.

Emergency Procedures and Passenger Safety

All pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in public or private school that are transported in a school bus or school pupil activity bus shall receive instruction in school bus emergency procedures and passenger safety. The county superintendent of schools, superintendent of the school district, or owner/operator of a private school, as applicable, shall ensure that the instruction is provided as follows:

1. Upon registration, the parents or guardians of all pupils not previously transported in a school bus or school pupil activity bus and who are in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, shall be provided with written information on school bus safety. The information shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
   1. A list of school bus stops near each pupil's home.
   2. General rules of conduct at school bus loading zones.
   3. Red light crossing instructions.
   4. School bus danger zone.
   5. Walking to and from school bus stops.
2. At least once in each school year, all pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, who receive home-to-school transportation shall receive safety instruction that includes, but is not limited to, proper loading and unloading procedures, including escorting by the driver, how to safely cross the street, highway, or private road, instruction on the use of passenger restraint systems, as described in paragraph (3), proper passenger conduct, bus evacuation, and location of emergency equipment. Instruction also may include responsibilities of passengers seated next to an emergency exit. As part of the instruction, pupils shall evacuate the school bus through emergency exit doors.
3. Instruction on the use of passenger restraint systems, when a passenger restraint system is installed, shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
   1. Proper fastening and release of the passenger restraint system.
   2. Acceptable placement of passenger restraint systems on pupils.
   3. Times at which the passenger restraint systems should be fastened and released.
   4. Acceptable placement of the passenger restraint systems when not in use.
4. Prior to departure on a school activity trip, all pupils riding on a school bus or school pupil activity bus shall receive safety instruction that includes, but is not limited to, location of emergency exits, and location and use of emergency equipment. Instruction also may include responsibilities of passengers seated next to an emergency exit.

School Pupil Activity Bus (SPAB)

All planned trips away from school grounds are subject to the regulations of AR 6153 A. Students on approved trips are under the jurisdiction of the School Board and subject to school rules and regulations.Teachers or other certificated personnel shall accompany students on all trips and shall assume responsibility for their proper conduct.

If a School Pupil Activity Bus (SPAB) is used for a field trip, it is the responsibility of the trip leader to perform a child check when students unload from the bus.  The trip leader is required to walk to the back of the bus and insure that there are no students remaining on the bus.