The duties and responsibilities of Transportation Services are to provide safe, timely, efficient, and courteous service to all eligible students in the School District of Lee County.
Parent / Guardian Helpful Tips
- Parents/Guardians should always make sure they know the bus route number and bus stop location information for their child.
- Parents/Guardians should always be able to describe what their child was wearing when they left for school in the morning. This information is vital for the school-based and transportation staff in the search for a student who has not arrived home from school.
- Parents/guardians are responsible for getting students to and from designated bus stops safely, and for their conduct and safety while waiting for the bus.
Students Helpful Tips
- Leave home early enough to arrive at your bus stop on time.
- Wear bright clothing and always walk facing traffic.
- Wait for your bus in a safe place - well off the roadway.
- Never stand, sit or play in or near the street.
- Enter your bus in an orderly manner, and take your seat.
- Follow the instructions of your bus driver.
- Remain in your seat while the bus is in motion.
- Keep your head and arms inside the bus at all times.
- Keep aisles clear at all times.
- Remain quiet and orderly.
- Be courteous to your school bus driver and fellow passengers.
- Be alert to traffic when leaving the bus.
Needs to Be Met Students
School Board Policy 7.02 (1) (a) states:
“The responsibility of the School Board of Lee County shall begin when students enter the school bus and end when the students depart the school bus. Parents/guardians are responsible for getting students to and from designated bus stops safely, and for their conduct and safety while waiting for the bus.”
Kindergarten and First Grade Students
The LCSD Transportation Department allows parents or guardians of kindergarten and first-grade students to request an adult (parent/guardian) be present when their child is dropped off in the afternoon. Parents must complete the “Kindergarten and First Grade Drop-off Notification Form” and must submit it to their child's school. The school will forward the request to transportation to document the information on the bus route sheet, inform the bus operator and assign an effective date.
Returning Need To Be Met Students to Schools
Students not met will be returned to their respective schools if they are a Need To Be Met student or an ESE student with an IEP stating they are to be met by a parent or guardian at their bus stop.
Transportation of Students with Shared Custody
The following are concerns regarding bus transportation of students with shared custodial parents. Although we are sympathetic to the potential and realistic problems of shared residential custody of the child, we must adhere to proper procedures. It is the responsibility of the parents, not the School District of Lee County, to transport the child to two residents.
The primary concern is to address the case where two divorced parents have equal residential custody but live in different zones. In a situation of this nature, we are unable to transport to two zones. Therefore, the parents must be notified that the student would be bused only to the home of the parent living in the student's school zone. Transportation between parents' homes is their responsibility.
The second concern is when both parents live in the same zone. We cannot assign a separate seat on two different buses for a student with parents living in the same zone. Since many of our buses are full, we cannot reserve a seat part-time and possibly deprive a full-time rider. Consequently, the parents must decide to which home the student will be bused.
It is unfortunate we cannot accommodate the various transportation wishes of parents living in separate homes and sharing residential custody of students. Current economic restraints do not allow the purchase of additional buses required to accommodate students to and from more than one location. We have several thousand students riding buses who are the children of divorced parents, many of whom have shared custody, and what we do for one we must be able to do for all. Much as we would like, we simply cannot afford to provide two bus seats for one student. Parents must provide transportation to the other custodial parent when they feel it is necessary.
Special Needs Sibling Ridership
Siblings of students that have been assigned special transportation are not permitted to ride the special transportation bus in accordance with School Board Policy 7.02(9).
Transportation Services is sympathetic to certain situations where it is in the best interest of a student to have a sibling accompany them to and from school. In some cases, providing there is space available on the special needs bus, a sibling may be authorized to ride via a Sibling Ridership Request Form. This form should be completed by the parent or guardian of the siblings and submitted to the school’s principal for approval. Please be advised, should the special needs bus become overloaded or there are discipline issues, the sibling shall be immediately reassigned to a General Education bus.
Please be advised that Sibling Ridership Request Forms will not be processed until 10 business days after the opening of school. This process is to ensure that all special needs students have been provided space on special needs buses.
Additionally, any address changes must be made at the school. Transportation Services can only process bus stop changes due to address changes when requested directly by the student’s school.
Special Needs Parent/Guardian Information
Our goal at Transportation Services is to provide your student with a safe and pleasant bus ride to and from school. We will require some important information from you regarding your student and any medical needs he or she may have to be able to reach this goal. Therefore, please complete the information on the attached form and return it to your student’s bus operator on the first day of school.
The Confidential Special Transportation Form was developed to have information that may be needed in an emergency situation. Along with the pertinent information that you will provide on this form, please include a current wallet sized (2” x 3”) photo of your student. Any information you provide regarding your student is protected under the Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and will not be shared or disclosed to anyone except those directly involved in the safety of your student.
It is imperative that you update this information each school year. If an emergency should occur, the information you provide on this form regarding medical conditions, medications, and allergies will enable emergency and medical personnel to contact you and/or your student’s physician and provide immediate medical care if necessary.