Everyone on the bus must wear facial coverings (students, drivers, aids).
Everyone must use hand sanitizer upon entering the bus.
Buses will be properly cleaned after the departure of the last child from each run.
Start the year with managed seating, driver will assign seats within 2 weeks.
Complete Plans:
Signage will be added to each bus to as a reminder for: face masking of all students and drivers, use of hand sanitizers, and cleaning protocols.
Require the use of hand sanitizer before entering the bus. Driver will dispense hand sanitizer in each student’s hand as they enter the bus.
The bus driver, staff, and all students in grades preK-12, will wear facial coverings while on the bus, unless the Facial Covering Exemption Form is on file. Disposable masks will be available at the entrance of the bus if a student has forgotten one.
Buses will be properly cleaned after the departure of the last child from each run once the bus has returned to the transportation garage. Cleaning logs will be maintained.
For buses with specialized transportation and equipment, bus aides and drivers will coordinate the wiping down of equipment upon entrance to the bus. This will be noted in the cleaning log.
We will use managed seating at the beginning of the school year, and the driver will assign seats within 2 weeks.
Bus drivers, weather permitting, will keep windows open on the bus both in route and when stopped, except when specified air conditioning is required for students with documented medical conditions.
Bus Route information will be available starting September 18, 2020, through Parent Portal.
Under your student's name, select the "Transportation Info" link on the left side. If do not remember your login credentials, please select the Need Your Login Information? option underneath where you would enter your PIN and Password. This will prompt you to supply your email address and your PIN and Password will be emailed to you.
Please note that due to new students enrolling throughout the year, pickup times are subject to change. Any bus changes throughout the year will be updated online.
Students should be waiting outside at their stop (not indoors) at least 5 minutes prior to pickup time. Ridership fluctuates daily based on after school sports/clubs and therefore the times listed as drop off are a baseline. For afternoon drop offs, families should note a 15-minute window prior to, and after, assigned stop time. Kindergarten and 1st grade students will be dropped off only if an older sibling on the bus or a guardian/authorized adult is at the stop to meet the child. If this is not the case, your child will be taken back to the schools latchkey program.
It is our practice not to drop off a kindergarten or 1st grade student at a bus stop in the afternoon without an older sibling on the bus or a guardian/authorized adult at the stop to meet the child.
We have experienced great delays, as we have routinely found that guardians/authorized adults are not yet at the stop to meet the child when the driver arrives. In many cases, our drivers have tried to wait for an adult to arrive to meet the child getting off the bus before continuing to the next stop. Sometimes, the driver has had the opportunity (based on the particular route) to return to the stop with the child in the hopes that an adult will be present.
When that is not possible or when an adult is still not present, the student is taken back to the school building and placed in the care of Latchkey staff until a guardian can come pickup the child.
These practices have caused incredible delays in our transportation system for other students and families. It has also increased the amount of time our buses and drivers are on the road, which adds to our overall cost of the program.
Therefore, we've adopted the following practice:
If an adult is not present at the bus stop to meet the kindergarten/1st grade child (and no sibling is on the bus to accompany the child off the bus), the driver will take the child to the school’s Latchkey program at the end of the run.
Our drivers are no longer authorized to return to a bus stop to see if an adult is present at a later time.
Children will need to be picked up from the school’s Latchkey program. Please note that there is a fee for Latchkey which is $15 for each occurrence and must be paid at pickup (payment can be made by cash, check, or credit card).
Families will be notified once the child has arrived at Latchkey.
Please note that a school bus may arrive up to ten minutes ahead of the published drop-off time if fewer students are on the bus that day.
Latchkey offers a drop-in service that is $50 for five visits. If meeting your child at the stop is a regular challenge, we suggest you purchase the drop-in service and contact the school before your child gets on the bus to make Latchkey arrangements that day. To register for the Latchkey drop-in service, please call 248.341.7950.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Jane Mack
About Transportation
The mission of the Bloomfield Hills Schools Transportation department is to transport children safely, in mechanically sound vehicles, to and from school and school activities, with compassion, caring, and courtesy in a safe environment.
BHS has 59 buses that are excellently maintained by our mechanics Rich Hella, Ken Weaver and Brandon Johnston.
Our lead mechanic, Rich Hella, was voted as 2020 Technician of the Year by Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation.
Our fleet has passed the Michigan State Police Inspections with a 100% for the past 28 years!
We strive for everyone who rides the bus to feel safe and secure and enjoy their bus ride. Have a safe and happy school year!
There are many factors which should be taken into consideration when school administrators establish the placement of school bus stops. The basic legal factors are spelled out in MCL 257.1855, but the primary concern is visibility of the bus to other traffic and the consideration of stopping distances necessary for other motor vehicles in order to accomplish safe loading and unloading of the children. In general, state law requires 400 feet of clear and continuous visibility on a highway or roadway where the speed limit is more than 35 miles per hour, and 200 feet where the speed limit is less than 35 miles per hour. There is no state law which specifies a maximum distance between stops.
It is the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian to see that a child gets safely to and from the bus stop. The school district provides transportation as a non-mandated service and establishes placement of the bus stops in accordance with the requirements of the law.
School districts are not required by law to transport regular education children. Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 380.1321 outlines the obligations of the school district IF its board of education elects to provide transportation. Under Article 3 of the Revised School Code, the school district is obligated to provide for the transportation of a special education student if the Individualized Educational Planning Committee (IEPC) has determined that the transportation is a specialized service which is included within and necessary to carry out the student's IEP.
There are no special laws or regulations for transporting regular education students enrolled in kindergarten. If your district provides transportation, it will be provided in accordance with the requirements of MCL 380.1321, Section 55 of the Pupil Transportation Act, and local district policy with regard to the placement of the bus stop.
The lights on a school bus which are used to notify other traffic of an upcoming stop must, by law, be activated 200 feet from the stop. Thus, bus stops must be at least 200 feet apart.
There are no laws pertaining to this issue. In most cases when adults are assigned to monitor students that are being transported on a bus, they are near the student or students who possess the greatest amount of supervisory need.
There is no maximum riding time in the law for children in kindergarten through grade twelve. Child care licensing regulations establish a maximum riding time of 60 continuous minutes for the transportation of preschool children.
As we continue to develop our return to school plans, we recognize the importance of having one place for students, staff, and families to view information as it becomes available. Knowing there are still many unanswered questions related to the Governor's plan and how Bloomfield Hills Schools will operate in the 2020-2021 school year, please bookmark this website as an ongoing resource. This website will continuously be updated as new information becomes available and additional developments unfold.
