Transportation

USD 500 offers bus transportation for all eligible riders as per District Policy. Eligibility measurement is determined along public roadways that a bus can travel. While the state of Kansas mandates bus rider eligibility for those students who are 2.5 miles away or further, USD 500 goes above and beyond to provide service to as many students as we possibly can. During enrollment, if you are bus eligible you will automatically be signed up. Your school will be able to let you know if you qualify.

Elementary Eligibility

District 500 distance requirement for Elementary student is 8/10 of a mile. Elementary students who do not qualify under District Policy are permitted to walk to the nearest regular bus stop as long as they are not crossing a major street to get to a bus stop.

Secondary Eligibility

District 500 distance requirement for High School / Middle School student is 1.5 mile. Students that do not qualify under District Policy are not permitted to ride the school bus, and will be considered a non-transport student.

Late Activity Bus Stops

Activity bus passes are required for all students riding the late after school activity bus. Eligible students must be participating in a school approved activity such as sports, cheerleading, and tutoring. Students who do not meet distance requirements for regular transportation are NOT eligible for the activity bus transportation. Activity bus passes are to be obtained from the school office the day of the event and be submitted to the bus driver upon boarding.

Activity stops are centrally located by area and must accommodate the entire school boundary. In most cases, these stops will not be the same as the student's regular bus stop, and an activity bus stop could potentially be routed up to 6 blocks from a regular bus stop. Please contact Transportation for additional information.

Preschool Students

Every preschool student will be properly secured with a safety seat belt and will be required to be met by school staff at the school and parent/guardian at the bus stop. If no connection is made at the bus stop, the student will remain on the bus and be returned to the designated school. Continuous concerns will impact bus riding privileges. Every effort will be made to include a second adult as a bus monitor on the bus to assist the driver with any concerns.

For specially routed students, if a student does not ride (3) consecutive days, the bus driver may place the bus stop on hold until a parent notifies Transportation, with the need to reinstate the bus service. All address changes that do not match what the transportation department has on file must be made through the school. The transportation department takes care to ensure these changes are authorized by the parent/guardian responsible for the student.

Special Needs Transportation

In order to qualify for Special Needs transportation, the assigned School I.E.P. team must determine that special transportation is needed as a related service.

Regular Education students with temporary medical conditions or injury may qualify for special needs transportation. Each case will be reviewed by Student Services.

For safety reasons we strongly encourage parents to accompany children to the bus stop and wait with their children to ensure supervision and support. Eligible riders must be at the designated bus stop at least 5-10 minutes prior to the estimated pick-up time. All parties are expected to wait respectively and quietly at the bus stop for the bus to arrive. If parties fail to respect the property and the community, near the bus stop, the designated bus stop could potentially be moved to a location farther away from the student's home.

If you cannot be at the bus stop, discuss all safety concerns you may have with your child.  Instruct your children to return home, should the bus be extremely late; and have them contact you. You may contact Transportation for special instructions at 913-627-3100.

Teach your children about road safety and be alert about any vehicles that may not follow traffic signs or signals when the bus is loading or unloading students. Unfortunately, each day, drivers carelessly run through the red flashing lights on school buses when buses are stopped to load or unload children. Please instruct your children to look before stepping off the bus as well as before crossing roadways.

Support our safety efforts and remind your children that they should never touch the exterior of the school bus while the bus is in motion on the roadway; or when they are approaching the bus stop; or leaving the bus stop. Caution them to never try to retrieve any dropped item near or under the school bus and notify the driver immediately for special instructions.

Restricted Areas

USD 500 buses will not utilize dead end streets, apartment complex parking/driving lanes, private property, or alley ways. Bus stops will be made as safe as possible to accommodate all eligible students as demographics allow according to State Regulations.

Route Times

Route times are estimated and may fluctuate especially at opening of school. Times should stabilize after the first few days. Pick up times are estimated and could be changed or adjusted throughout the school year as necessary.

Our drivers and support personnel are some of the best available, and we provide proficient transportation services to our community. Data shows that the school bus has been proven beyond question to be the safest mode of ground transportation available.

At USD 500, School bus drivers are carefully selected, hired, and professionally trained with rigorous selection criteria to include a criminal history background check. All drivers are trained on site by our designated driver trainer. Each driver has earned, at minimum, a Class B Commercial Driver License including School Bus and Passenger Endorsements. Drivers are required to pass a pre-employment drug test, a continuing D.O.T. physical and are subject to random drug and alcohol testing. Additionally, drivers are certified in Defensive Driving, CPR and First Aide training. The Transportation team is united with the National Safety Council and the American Red Cross to ensure safe transportation for all students.

For safety reasons, USD 500 will not allow any person to negatively affect District 500 by providing a safe ride to school. Should you have any concerns, please call 913-627-3100, as we are investigating all issues. Effective transportation service requires appropriate actions and collaborative efforts with bus drivers; staff, school administrators, students and parents/guardians.

To encourage responsibility and safety, use of a cell phone is not permitted on the school bus. Students who allow electronic and technology devices to become a distraction or disruption on the school bus will be asked to put the device away. We also do not allow any video/audio recording on the bus, so the privacy of every student is respected. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary action.

Discuss with your child that it is a privilege to ride the school bus and help them understand how it helps your family and the education system. The attire and behavior on the school bus is the same in the classroom and is discussed further in the Student Code of Conduct. Students must be at the bus stop at least (10) minutes prior to an estimated pick-up time.

In the interest of maintaining safety standards, the bus driver may issue discipline notices to any student, who creates a disturbance or violates safety rules specified herein:

Illustrations of improper conduct:

1. Failure to always remain seated except when entering or leaving the bus.

2. Loud conversations, shouting, obscene language or gestures not properly suited to a classroom.

3. Scuffing, fighting, jostling, or otherwise creating a disturbance or disorder.

4. Extending hands, heads or objects from the bus.

5. Throwing any object including paper or trash either within the bus or out of the bus.

6. Creating any hazard, damage or unnecessary delay of the bus before entering, while on, or after leaving the bus.

7. Physical or verbal abuse toward the bus driver.

8. Tampering with any of the operating equipment including sitting in the driver's seat or opening the emergency door.

Field Trips

All school bus safety rules apply to passengers riding the bus to and from a school-sponsored event. The bus driver shall have overall responsibility for the bus and the safety of all passengers with the assistance of the sponsor.

Student Safety and Conduct

School buses are designed with many features designed for the safety of students. A major design factor is the compartmentalization (compartment) formed by each seat, which protects the students; when they are sitting appropriately on the seat.

All riders are expected to follow the guidelines of the District 500 Code of Conduct. Riders are expected to board and exit at their designated pick up or delivery point. Any changes in pick up or drop off must be processed through the school. Allow at least (3) days to process changes.

Seating

Every student shall be seated and drivers may assign seats. Seating may be three pupils per seat in a 39-inch seat and two per seat in a 26-inch seat.

Bus capacity shall be determined by allowing 13 inches of seat width per individual times the number of 39-inch seats (3 passengers per seat) and 26-inch seats (2 passengers per seat) per bus. If the bus is at full capacity, any large objects including musical instruments that cannot reasonably be held on the students lap are subject to being removed.

Student Discipline

The first requirement for bus safety is an orderly bus. The school bus is considered as an extension of the classroom; rules, regulations and procedures are in place to ensure a safe, courteous and efficient transportation service that is consistent with Board Policies and Student Code of Conduct. Temporary suspension of a student's riding privileges because of improper conduct may be ordered by the Director of Transportation and/or the school principal.

Step 1

Each student will be given an opportunity to correct or adjust their behavior when receiving a verbal warning from the school bus driver.

Step 2

Failure to correct the behavior will result in a written warning from the school bus driver and generate notice to the home and school to initiate involvement.

Step 3

If similar behavior continues, the driver will report the activity on a second written warning. The Director of Transportation will determine and communicate the appropriate bus suspension consequences to the school. Transportation is responsible for notifying the home regarding bus suspensions.

Step 4

If the previous consequences prove ineffective and the disruptive or unsafe behavior continues, parent must arrange a conference with the Director of Transportation to determine if riding privileges will continue.

Step 5

If similar behavior continues, bus riding privileges will be revoked for the remainder of the school year and transportation to and from school will become parent responsibility.

Bus Video / Audio Monitoring

Audio video cameras on school buses are used to monitor behavior, to ensure safety for all passengers and the bus driver. Parents with concerns may contact Transportation to request that a USD 500 school official(s) review a particular bus ride event; however USD 500 school officials are the only ones to review a video, as parents will not be authorized to do so.

Thank you for your support.

Bus Information will be provided 1-2 weeks before the date students will be back in a classroom.

What is Edulog’s Parent Portal? How do I sign up to use it?

The Parent Portal mobile app by Education Logistics, Inc. (Edulog) allows school districts to share planned and actual school transportation information with parents and caregivers. The app provides the latest information on the planned time and location of the student’s school bus stop. It can show the position of the school bus and give an alert as the bus nears the bus stop.

Download the Edulog Parent Portal from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Search for “Edulog Parent Portal” and choose the app with the white bus on the teal background. Once you have the app downloaded, sign up using your email address.
 

Is there a Spanish version?

Yes. Once you have the app installed, the language can be changed from English to Spanish on the SETTINGS tab. Make sure to select SAVE to continue in the language of your choice.
 

Should I register separately for each of my children?

Just register once for your school district. A single registration allows you to access information for all students for whom you have the security information.
 

How do I register my student in the Parent Portal?

This is done from the STUDENT LIST tab by selecting the “+” icon or the ADD STUDENT button. In order to register your student, you must have 5 pieces of information to ensure security.

1. Student’s First Name (spelled correctly)
2. Student’s Last Name (spelled correctly)
3. School to which the student is assigned.
4. Student’s data of birth.
5. Student ID Number, assigned by the school district.
    

My student’s first or last name is often misspelled or has multiple spellings. Which spelling do I use to access his/her information in the app?

You must use the spelling of the first and last name that matches the spelling used by the school district’s student information system.
 

I am having trouble finding my student’s school to fill in the SCHOOL field. What am I missing?

There are two ways to select your student’s school.

One is to search based on the school name. As you type part of the school name, you will see schools that match that name, in full or in part. For instance, for Booker T. Washington School, you can begin typing “Booker” or “Washington” and a list of matching schools will appear.
Alternatively, you can click on the small map icon to the right of the school field and then locate the school on the map, selecting the icon displayed at the school location.
 

My student shows as PENDING or REJECTED. What do I do?

Typically, a student registration shows as PENDING or REJECTED if all 5 security fields do not match. You can see the data that you entered by selecting this student in the app and examining the data to check for typographical errors. If you have questions about the spelling of the name or the district ID number, you should contact the student’s school.
 

What do the pickup and drop off times mean? What about the distance?

On the HOME tab or the Transportation Schedule screen, the locations and times for pickup and drop-off are those planned by the school district. If the district maintains distinct transportation schedules on different days of the week, that planned information appears here as well. On the MY BUS tab, there is a distance which indicates how far, as the crow flies, the bus currently is from the planned bus stop.
 

Why is the GPS feature of the bus not functioning or accurate?

Sometimes the GPS module of a bus stops functioning. The transportation team focuses on repairs that keep the buses safe to travel on the roads. Whether it is focusing on safety and reliability repairs or waiting for parts to fix the GPS, be sure that the transportation team is working on fixing those that are not functioning properly.