TRANSPORTATION POLICIES:

The Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board have formed a cooperative transportation department that uses a computerized routing system and measures such as staggering starting times for schools to provide seamless and cost effective services to students. The boards have avoided staff duplication and reduced their workload by having employees work closely together in one common location. They are presently looking at ways of integrating their transportation departments further and improving services in certain areas without increasing transportation costs. Through this arrangement, they now have one of the lowest cost-per-rider figures in the province ($2.06) for regular students.

CONTACTS:

Cecil Omand
Director of Education
Waterloo Region District School Board
cecil_omand@wrdsb.edu.on.ca
519.570.0300

Roger Lawler
Director of Education
Waterloo Catholic District School Board
roger.lawler@wcdsb.edu.on.ca
519.578.3660

Wellington Catholic District School Board and Upper Grand District School Boards operate under similar sets of student transportation policies. While there are some minor differences in the eligibility criteria for the two Boards, both uphold the following policies as they relate to student conduct on buses:

• Students will be delivered to school no more than 30 minutes prior to the start of class.
• Buses will depart schools not later than 30 minutes after the regular dismissal time.
• No student will walk more than 1.2 kms (.75 miles) from the end of their driveway to the bus pick-up point.
• Where houses are grouped together, students will meet at a central pick-up location.
• Where practical, elementary students should spend no more than 45 minutes, and secondary students should spend no more than 60 minutes on the bus each way on regular routes serving their home school.
• Students will ride on no more than 2 different buses while travelling either to or from school.
• Students must remain seated on a moving bus.
• A video camera may be used on a school bus for the purpose of promoting the proper behaviour and safety of students on the bus.
• Students who are disruptive may have their bus service withdrawn.

Sports equipment policies

• Skate blades must be covered by guards, tied together, carried in a bag and placed on the floor of the bus at the student's feet.
• Skis and poles may not be transported unless that bus is equipped with suitable storage space under the floor.
• Hockey equipment will not be transported unless the bus is equipped with suitable storage space and special permission has been received from the Principal and the driver. Hockey sticks may be taken to school on Mondays and returned on Fridays provided that they are stored in a safe and secure place as determined by the driver.
• Musical instruments must be kept on the student's lap.
• The bristles of curling brooms must be covered and the sticks stored.
• Skateboards and rollerblades may NOT be transported.
• The decision to transport other objects shall be determined in advance by the Principal, the bus driver, and the Transportation department.

Field Trips

Field trips and school to school trips are part of the regular school program and students are subject to the same rules and Code of Conduct as regular bus students.

Caregiver arrangements

Parents who wish to arrange transportation service at a care-givers' address must make the request, in writing, to the Principal.

Please note that permission will not be confirmed prior to the end of the first month of the school year and students must be eligible for bus transportation (based on their home address) in order to be considered for such an arrangement.

Contact your school Principal regarding procedures.

Inclement Weather

• During inclement weather, local radio stations will announce bus route cancellations. Parents and students are advised to listen to their local radio station. Do not call the radio station or the bus operator as regular reports will be issued.
• When a bus does not operate a route in the morning, it will also not operate in the afternoon. Parents who take students to school in the morning are responsible to return them in the afternoon.
• When classes are suspended and buses leave early, students will arrive home earlier than usual. Parents must inform the school of an alternate drop-off point.

Eligibility Criteria

Students who live a certain distance from their school may receive bus transportation to and from school. The distance is set for each grade as follows:

FOR WELLINGTON COUNTY STUDENTS:

Junior Kindergarten to Grade 1
Students who live 1.6 km from school

Grade 2 to Grade 6
Students who live 2.8 kms from school

Grade 7 to OAC
Students of the Wellington Catholic D.S.B. who live 3.2 kms from school;
Students of the Upper Grand D.S.B. who live 4.8 kms from school.

The Transportation Department may increase or decrease the walking distance by 0.1 kms.

Students may also qualify for transportation for one year if one of the following conditions is met:

• The walking route is determined to be unusually hazardous by the Transportation Dept.
• Authorization is received from an appropriate Superintendent to attend a school to take a program of studies not available at their home school.
• A Request for Special Transportation Form is completed by a medical practitioner which stipulates in specific terms why a student's health necessitates the provision of transportation for an entire year. Transportation arrangements for a student with a short term medical problem, such as a broken leg, must be made by the parents / guardians of the student.

FOR REGION OF WATERLOO STUDENTS:

Waterloo Region District School Board

Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3
Students who live 1.6 km or more from school

Grade 4 to Grade 6
Students who live 2.0 kms or more from school

Grade 7 and 8
Students who live 3.5 kms or more from school

Grade 9 to 12
Students who live 4.8 kms or more from school

Waterloo Catholic District School Board

Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8
Students who live 1.6 km or more from school

Grade 9 to 12
Students who live 3.2 kms or more from school

For information on school board policies, NOT provided above, contact the appropriate school board using these links.

The Wellington Catholic School Board

The Upper Grand District School Board