The purpose of student transportation in Pittsylvania County is to transport children to and from school in a safe and efficient manner. In order to do this, we need the cooperation of parents, students, bus drivers, and all school personnel.
The following regulations will help everyone understand what is expected of the students, in an effort to ensure their safety while on the bus and while waiting for the bus:
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Parents of preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school students must accompany their children to and from the bus stop.
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Students must wait for the bus at approved locations off of the travel portion of the roadway until the bus comes to a complete stop.
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Students must be at the bus stop at least five (5) minutes before the scheduled arrival of the school bus. Buses are scheduled so they cannot wait for students, and drivers are instructed not to wait.
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Students must board the bus immediately and take their assigned seats. As many as three students will be assigned to each seat. Drivers will allow students to take their seats before moving.
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Students must remain seated and may only stand to exit after the bus comes to a complete stop.
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Students must not throw objects on or out of the bus. They must keep arms, hands, and other parts of their bodies inside the bus at all times.
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The unauthorized consumption of food and drinks on the bus is prohibited.
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Band instruments and class projects may only be carried on the bus if the students can hold them in their laps. These objects must not take up space on seats, or be placed in the front of the bus or aisle. Aisles and exits cannot be blocked in any way.
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Students must talk in a normal conversational manner and must not yell or move around the bus to talk to others. The use of profanity or obscene and suggestive language is prohibited.
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The unauthorized boarding of a school bus constitutes trespassing. Parents may not board a bus at any time unless they are serving as approved chaperons for a school-sponsored trip.
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Students must always obey drivers’ instructions.
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Drivers will not instruct students to exit the bus at places other than their designated stops or refuse to pick up students unless authorized to do so by the school’s principal or assistant principal, the Assistant Superintendent for Operations, or the Superintendent of Schools or his designee(s). Drivers will only allow students to exit the bus at their regular stops or at the school, not at unauthorized stops or alongside roads or highways.
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Students who must cross the road to board or exit the bus will cross in front of the bus, at the direction of the driver. Students must cross the road approximately ten (10) feet in front of the front bumper of the bus.
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Students may ride only the bus/buses to which they are assigned and will board and exit the bus only at their regular stops. Any student who must ride another bus on occasion must provide the driver with written permission signed by the school’s principal.
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The State Code of Virginia prohibits smoking on school buses.
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Animals may not be transported on school buses. This restriction does not apply to school-division-approved service animals.
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A student who is suspended from one school bus in Pittsylvania County cannot ride another school bus during the term of the suspension.
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Students may ride only the buses to which they have been assigned by authorized school officials.
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Those who, through deliberate intent or carelessness, damage or deface school buses will be required to reimburse the school division for the cost of repairs.
Violators of the regulations listed above will be subject to disciplinary action including the loss of transportation privileges. The parents of students who receive school bus suspensions bear the responsibility of transporting their children to and from school.
Updated August 13, 2024