For those of you who live in Rural areas...

[dez1978]

Do the school buses there go down all of the roads to pick kids up, door to door? Do they make them meet at the end of the road? Or a bit of both?

Our district, 85% + of the kids live on gravel roads. Which means 2 things, very long routes for some kids, and lots of snow days. With my kids going in to 4th and 7th next year, I wanted to stop sending them to daycare before/after school and let them ride the bus. We live on a "private" road, which means its maintained by the people who live on it, not the county. Therefore, the bus will not come down the road. There will be 8 kids from this road that ride the bus next year. But the bus will only pick up/drop off at the main road, so all the kids have to wait down there. I don't mind that so much in the morning because they are the last to get picked up. However, in the afternoon, they pass by our road, do the entire route and stop on the way back to the school so the kids don't cross the road. I get that and that it is a safety issue. But that means they are on the bus for over an hour every day which also is sort of a safety issue considering those kids are sitting 3-4 per seat. Several of the parents asked the school if the bus could just change the stop to someplace on that road. There is a cross road less than 1/10 mile from the main road where the bus could easily drop off and turn around without any problems and we got a response along the lines of we do not have time to go door to door for all of the kids, so some kids will need to be brought to the main hwy regardless of if it is a county road or private. I just wondered how other rural districts handled it.

 

[Moliphino]

My town isn't super rural, but from what I remember it depended on the kids ages. Kindergarteners had to be dropped off pretty much right at the house, but middle/high school could be at the end of the street or entrance to a subdivision.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

For years, the bus would come through our small development for all age groups - 2 stops to choose from in the rural development. Then maybe 7-8 years ago, as a 'cost saving' measure, we were told all kids would be picked up at the main road leading into our development - right along a 2-lane traffic thoroughfare. It was such a dangerous place (a 40 mph road that locals would drive 60 or more on) for kids to gather, parents started working together to drive kids down and make sure they got on the bus safely - especially the younger ones.

 

[kymom99]

I would ask if they could drop off when they pass the road the first time. Buses can pull across the lanes and must have those arms that block the road. As long as it’s not a blind curve or anything, it should be safe enough. That’s a compromise that they might be willing to make.

 

[dez1978]

I would ask if they could drop off when they pass the road the first time. Buses can pull across the lanes and must have those arms that block the road. As long as it’s not a blind curve or anything, it should be safe enough. That’s a compromise that they might be willing to make.

They used to do that until a couple of years ago. They quit doing it bc people drive like jerks and don't stop.

 

[kymom99]

They used to do that until a couple of years ago. They quit doing it bc people drive like jerks and don't stop.

You’re not wrong about that.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Raised our kids in a quirky town, sort of rural with cows and pastures plus some more urban spots, our place was on former farmland turned suburban neighborhood with cows & cornfields nearby, so it was a giant blend.

All the parents of all these kids should start showing up at PTA meetings, so 2 adults per kid is 16 new faces. Do it without anger or resentment but show up quietly and calmly with patience and keep showing up, all of you.

The school board is elected by the community and the principal is hired by the school board, school board does not want angry parents griping in the community or they lose influence. Trust my many years of experience that all involved are politicians first and as long as NOONE in your group becomes a shouting lightening bolt for them to line up against you will be able to get your way over time, just be patient, calm & consistent. The first few times you go you will be ignored but if you keep showing up with pleasantries and everyone in your group starts consistently voting on whatever is happening they will recognize you as a potential help or obstacle & you will get noticed. Get together as a group to talk about how best to get your goal accomplished. Have the calmest person, best public speaker if you have a parent in the group who speaks for a living, gently inquire about school bus routing. Let that one person bring up the groups interests & ask who you all should contact about requesting the change in route. Also, greasing the wheels doesn't hurt so coffee and a donut for the bus driver who can make waves or not with some kindness once a week can go a long way, a very long way. Maybe each family can introduce yourselves with some nice treats, I used to gift our bus driver all the time. Maybe volunteer for a few unrelated events to immerse yourselves in the community.

What never ever works is strong arming, everyone who shows up day in & day out as volunteers will just band together to shut you all down so keep this in mind.

Good luck

 

[dizneegirl]

We're extremely rural (think fields/cows/etc)... the bus stops at every house - otherwise you'd have kids that could be walking a mile or two to the end of the road.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Our school district stops at each house. The school district where my 3 granddaughters go though will not pick them up either because there is no where for the bus to turn around and the only road available goes too far out of their way.

 

[QueenIsabella]

When we lived rural, they stopped at every house.

My complaint was, my kids would be the first ones picked up. We lived on a 4-way corner--our driveway was just after the end on the west street. Not only did their bus pass it again on the way to school, going east to south, but a different bus passed, going straight south. They wouldn't let my kids take either of those. The east-to-south, I could agree with--it wasn't a stop, it was a curve, and not a great place for a bus (or anyone) to stop. But the south-going bus actually passed the house's original front door (200yo house, things changed through the years), and had a stop sign on the corner.

Because of this, starting in K, my kids would have close to an hour on the bus. Worse, my oldest got into a special program where she was supposed to take the MS/HS bus, an hour earlier, then transfer busses at the HS to get to her final destination, once a week.

I drove them in, and they took the bus home.

 

[disneychrista]

There are designated pick up and drop offs. Usually on the “main roads” none of the side streets. You have to live at least 1 mile from the school to be on the bus route. And you could have to walk up to a mile to the designated pick up area.

 

[Meriweather]

My kids were raised in a rural area.
We lived about 1/3 mile from the main road on a private gravel road.....4 families.
The bus picked the kids up by the mailbox on the main paved road. I would take them down there and wait with them. The others with kids would go there too

 

[PollyannaMom]

Would they drop off on the other side of the road (when they normally pass coming home) if there was an adult there? With 8 kids, maybe the families would be willing to take turns.

 

[firefly_ris]

My kids are picked up right in front of our house.

When I was a kid we all walked to the top of the hill at the end of our street and got the bus there.

 

[tvguy]

They stopped regular school bus service here over 20 years ago. Special needs students still have bus service because it is required by federal law, and my understanding is that law requires the bus to pick students up at their house without regard to if they live in a rural area or subdivision.

 

[easyas123]

They won't go down privately owned lanes/roads of which we have a couple around here. That's all I know.

 

[barkley]

the district i live in/my kids attended high school in is ENTIRELY rural so my answers are based on busses that drive on county roads, state and (yes) federal highways.

Do the school buses there go down all of the roads to pick kids up, door to door? Do they make them meet at the end of the road? Or a bit of both?

kids are not picked up door to door. there are designated bus stops miles apart within the individual routes and families are responsible for getting kids to their assigned stops. busses are not legally permitted to go on private roads so while they may travel on county gravel roads they will not go down roads paved or gravel to individual homes or housing developments b/c it is private property. our assigned stop was first for pick up/last for drop off so my kids were on the bus an hour in the a.m./hour in the p.m (in the winter they left and returned in the dark).

the 'late bus' (for sports/after school activities) stops on the HIGHWAY at some side areas where parents can park and pickup kids (i believe only high school students can utilize it).

Kindergarteners had to be dropped off pretty much right at the house, but middle/high school could be at the end of the street or entrance to a subdivision.

k-12 ride the same bus in our district, only difference is drivers will not permit students under a certain grade/age to exit absent an adult being present for their pickup.

We're extremely rural (think fields/cows/etc)... the bus stops at every house - otherwise you'd have kids that could be walking a mile or two to the end of the road.

bus stops are routinely a mile or more from homes where i live.

Special needs students still have bus service because it is required by federal law, and my understanding is that law requires the bus to pick students up at their house without regard to if they live in a rural area or subdivision.

i'll speak to this only b/c my youngest is special needs and i had ALLOT of experience with school transportation that involved engaging public advocates very versed in federal and state laws-

not all special needs kids qualify for transportation. even those that do have no right to any altered transportation access beyond their traditional bus stops except within VERY LIMITED situations, per federal law-

Transportation decisions are made at IEP meetings on an individual basis. If a student with an IEP cannot get to/from school the same way as non-disabled students for a disability-related reason, then the district must provide transportation for the student. This generally means door-to-door transportation, both ways, between home and school. If the student needs transportation to benefit from education, the district supplies that transportation.

in the case of rural districts where busses do not go down private roads or have miles in between bus stops the legal presumption is that non disabled students are being privately transported to the bus stops SO it is therefore presumed that a disabled student can be transported to the identical bus stop in the identical manner even if they are going to ultimately be transported on a different bus (the type that have lifts, accommodate wheel chairs...).

 

[amcnj]

One town I lived in did not stop at every house or go down every street. The bus route had designated pick up spots where the children would wait. Our house was close to a stop and it was a popular one at the time, practically filling the bus. They actually added another pick up spot a few blocks down the road so the number of kids congregating at the one stop would not be so large.

 

[indimom]

Every house. A fair number of the kids who rode my bus growing up had a 1/2 mile or mile walk just to get to the end of their driveway. I still live in the same area (but I'm "in town" now), and the rural kids still get picked up at their driveway. The "town" kids have pickup stops and may have to walk a couple blocks.

 

[china mom]

We are considered rural with mostly farmland and some neighborhoods.

Prior house: The houses along main roads would get end of the driveway pick up. We were on a cul-de-sac. The bus stop was at the end of the road. We were the last street so the bus would stop, pick up my kids and then back up onto our street and make a 3 point turn to go back the way it came from. It was , IMHO, dangerous, stupid and an inconvenience to drivers on the main road. I spoke to the bus driver and convinced her to come down our cul-de-sac and pick up the kids in front of my house (only kids on that street). She could then make the left turn back onto the main road. It worked great.

Our current neighborhood, K-8 bus stop happened to be right in front of our house. H.S. bus is at the main road about a half mile from the house.