Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Transportation Department routinely receives requests for information about transportation of school students. The Department has prepared a list of frequently asked questions:
Q. We live on a cul-de-sac. Will the bus come down our street?
A. Except for special education circumstances, buses are generally not routed into a cul-de-sac. Cul-de-sac stops are considered unwise for the following reasons.
- Cul-de-sac stops create blind spots, often causing students to enter or exit in a “danger zone” around the bus (at a corner stop or street curb stop, they enter/exit outside the danger zone).
- Different styles and sizes of buses make maneuvering in cul-de-sacs difficult.
- The rear of the bus has potential to swing around close to the sidewalk.
- Parked cars and other obstacles create road hazards that may not be seen until entering the cul-de-sac and at a point of no return.
- Property damage to mailboxes and landscaping.
- Backing up a bus to turn around in a cul-de-sac creates a dangerous situation.
Q. Why can’t a bus come further into my subdivision or cul-de-sac?
A. Buses come in various lengths, widths, heights and weights. The length is what limits the school bus to be maneuvered in cul-de-sacs and tight places. Most subdivisions are not designed with school bus transportation in mind.
Q. The bus drives right past my house. Why can’t it stop at my house?
A. The higher frequency of stops makes the motoring public impatient. This results in people attempting to drive around the bus, which creates a dangerous situation. It also delays the bus by increasing the number of stops and makes the student ride time longer. Stops are placed to be central to groups of students in a subdivision or specific area.
Q. I can’t see the bus stop from my house.
A. Seneca Valley School District provides transportation for more than 8,500 students. The District is not able to position bus stops so that all parents are able to see the stop from their home.
Q. Why can’t the Activity Bus drop off closer to my home?
A. The stops are usually set up to service students from a large geographical area. Seneca Valley School District is 100 square miles. Due to the wide-spread drop-off need, these buses stay on main roads within the district rather than going into housing
developments. These buses will depart Seneca Valley secondary schools in Jackson Township, Monday through Friday, at 5 p.m. (only). Please note, there are no activity runs on Act 80 Days, In-Service Days or half days on the secondary campus. Copies of the bus stops are available in the secondary building offices. Parents should arrange their schedule to meet their child(ren) at the centrally located stop and transport home.
Q. Who is responsible for students at school bus stops?
A. Parents are solely responsible for their child(ren) at school bus stops. It is important that parents monitor their child’s behavior and ensure that their child(ren) wait for the school bus in a safe location away from the road.
Q. Can my child go home with his/her friend after school? I won’t be home.
A. School bus policy does not provide for students to ride home with friends. The bus driver has a roster with the names of students authorized to ride his/her particular bus. If a student attempts to ride a friend’s bus home, the student will be denied access and told to return to their regular bus.
Q. I need a temporary change of bus assignment for my child because of an emergency.
A. Requests for a temporary change will be considered in the following situations:
- Death in the family.
- Hospitalization of an immediate family member.
- Temporary guardian due to absence from home of parent or guardian
Requests for a temporary change due to a parent’s absence from home usually occurs because of a business obligation or court appearance. Please contact the transportation department at least a day in advance during circumstances when conflicts in schedules are known.
Q. I am moving. How do I notify transportation?
A. As soon as you know you are moving, it is important to notify the school(s) your child(ren) is/are attending. The school personnel will take care of notifying other departments of the address change. The transportation department is included in this process.
Q. I am required to be at my kindergartener’s assigned bus stop for discharge; what if I am late or unable to be at the stop at the designated time?
A. A known caregiver, preferably an adult, must be present at the bus stop to receive a kindergarten student. If a caregiver is not present, the student will be returned to their school or the SVSD Central Office on the Secondary Campus, and a parent or emergency contact will be called for pickup.
Q. I regularly meet my elementary student at his bus stop for discharge but occasionally I am late; will the bus driver wait for me? My child is not a kindergartener.
A. Only kindergarten students are required to have an adult at the bus stop for discharge, all other students are discharged regardless if an adult is at their stop. If your child is hesitant or fearful to discharge the bus because you are not at the stop the bus driver will return the student to their school or the bus garage and the parent will be contacted to pick up their child.
Q. How far may a child be asked to walk to a school bus stop?
A. The law allows a district to ask a child, regardless of age, to walk up to a mile and a half to a bus stop. The mile and a half is measured by public roads and does not include any private lane or walkway of the child’s residence.
Q. I think the road my child has to walk along is hazardous. What can I do?
A. The law provides for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to review potentially hazardous walking routes. The request for this review must be made by the school district to the local PennDOT engineering district office. PennDOT regulations do not address hazards other than road or traffic conditions. The local district may assess conditions such as bad neighborhoods, secluded wooded areas, snow removal, etc., when developing transportation routes.
Q. How long may a child be required to ride on a bus?
A. This is a local decision (based on geography, population distribution, etc.). There are no time limits set by law or regulations.
Q. What can I do about transportation problems such as (1) the bus was late, (2) the bus never came, (3) the bus stop location seems dangerous, (4) the bus driver is speeding, and (5) another child hit my child on the bus?
A. You must work with your school district to address such problems. Refer to the Seneca Valley School District website under Departments/Transportation or call 724.452.6040 ext. 1758.
Q. Must transportation be provided for exceptional children?
A. Transportation must be provided as required by a child’s individualized education program (IEP). An intermediate unit may provide this transportation for the district.
Q. May a district suspend busing services for a child?
A. Yes. Transportation is a privilege, not a right.
Q. When does a school district have to provide transportation to a nonpublic school?
A. When a district provides transportation for its public pupils, it must provide transportation services to nonpublic pupils of the same grade level that it is providing for its own pupils. The nonpublic school must be nonprofit and located within the ten-mile distance, the nonpublic pupil is not eligible for transportation, nor are his parents eligible for payment towards transportation costs.
Q. I think the bus my child rides on is overloaded. What can I do?
A. Address your concern to the school district. The district will conduct a population survey on the bus in question during a five day period. All questions relating to school vehicle regulations, such as seating, aisle clearance, warning devices, etc., should be addressed to the Pupil Transportation Section of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation at 717-787-9671.
Q. Can my child be dropped off at the McDonald’s on Route 228 for employment?
A. No, the school board policy does not provide transportation for work purposes, music lessons, or other non-school related activities.
Q. Do you or the bus company have a lost and found?
A. Many items become lost on buses. The drive will either keep the item, hoping that the student will ask for it, or the driver will give it to the garage office. The Transportation Department does not maintain a lost and found. If items found in the garage are returned over to us, we in turn, take them to the building the child attends.
Q. My child will be attending a private in-home daycare. How do I arrange this with your office?
A. You need to notify the Transportation office in writing (online form available by clicking here) that your child will be attending, when and where. The district will consider your request. Students can be assigned to bus routes only within the elementary attendance area they reside. These requests will be approved, provided they do not cause an overload to the bus route.
Q. My child will be attending an all-day Kindergarten program. Can he/she be bused both ways?
A. Seneca Valley kindergarten students are only bused one-way. AM to school or PM home. If your child’s school provides an all-day program, we will provide transportation from the daycare to school.
Q. What time should I have my child at the bus stop?
A. We ask that students arrive approximately five minutes before the scheduled pick-up time. There will be fluctuations in the schedule, especially during the first few weeks of the school year. We ask for your patience, pick-up and drop-off times become more consistent after the first few weeks of the school year. Please use these more consistent times when planning your trip to the bus stop.
Q. Are school districts required to transport students?
A. With the exception of charter school students, Pennsylvania law does not require a school district to provide transportation for its students.
Q. When does a district have to provide transportation to a charter school?
A. The law requires school districts to provide transportation to resident students attending a charter school “on such dates and periods that the charter school is in "regular session” if:
- The charter school is located within the district, or
- The charter school is located not more than ten miles by the nearest public highway beyond the district boundary, or
- The charter school is a regional charter school in which the district is participating.
Q. Why is my child’s bus late?
A. Weather, traffic, driver absenteeism, maintenance difficulties and unforeseen incidents are responsible for delays in arrival of school buses. Please know that we do everything possible to have all buses running on schedule each and every day. In the event your bus does not arrive as scheduled, contact the transportation department at 724-452-6040 ext. 1758. If you do not reach anyone in the transportation department call either ABC Transit, 724-473-4500 or Valley Lines, 724-473-4411. Please know the bus number of your child’s bus to be directed to the correct garage.
Q. Why can’t you call when you know the bus will be late?
A. There are as many as 50-60 students on each bus. It would be impossible to contact everyone in such a short time frame and many parents are not home or are waiting at the stop for their child.
Q. When transportation is provided by a district, who is responsible?
A. The board of directors of a school district is responsible for all aspects of Pupil Transportation Programs. The school board may ask their solicitor (an attorney) to interpret educational laws and regulations for them.