Upper Perkiomen School District

Director of Transportation & Registration
Jennifer Malone
jmalone@upsd.org
215-541-2443

Administrative Assistant to the Director of Transportation & Registration
Kristal Bitner
Kbitner@upsd.org
215-679-7961 ext. 2471

Krise Transportation
215-660-9685

• PDE Transportation FAQ
• Rider Rules
• Bus Safety Packet
• School Bus Stopping Rules
• Winter Weather Safety Reminders
• Alternative Transportation webpage (for child care/custody arrangements)
• Non-Public Transportation webpage

• 810 - Transportation
• 810.1 - Drug/Alcohol Testing: Covered Drivers
• 810.2 - Transportation: Video/Audio Recording
• 810.3 - Use of School Vehicles

 

The Upper Perkiomen School District shall transport students in grades K-5 who are picked up or dropped off at a destination other than their home on a daily basis, for the purpose of child care. Transportation will not be provided for any day care facility located within a walking boundary of a school, or located outside of the district. The parent of students in child care must submit a written request to the Transportation Department yearly for review and approval by August 1st of the preceding school year.

The Child Care Request Form is linked, here. 

 

1. All students will show proper conduct while riding in a school bus or vehicle used for transporting students.

• Find your seat, facing forward with your back against the seat.
• Talk in a quite volume.
• Fighting, or rough play, creating a disturbance in any way, shape, or form is not permitted.
• Throwing objects on the bus or from the bus is not permitted.
• Keep head, arms, and hands inside the bus at all times.
• The use of obscene language is not permitted.

 

2. Be careful in walking to and from a bus stop, walk on the left side of the road toward oncoming traffic so you can see what is coming toward you; be sure the road is clear both ways before crossing, looking left, right, left.

3. Respect property and wait at the assigned bus stop without damaging or trespassing on private property.

4. Be at the assigned bus stop 8-10 minutes before the scheduled time. Be on time for the assigned dismissal bus in order to permit the bus to follow the time schedule on the route. A student is not permitted to ride on a bus on which a student is not assigned.

5. Never run after or towards a bus when moving or about to move. Stay more than 10 ft. away from a bus except entering or exiting the bus at the passenger door.

6. All students are to line up and enter the bus in an orderly fashion.

7. Sit in the assigned seat (K-6). Bus drivers have the right to assign a student (K-12) to a seat in the bus and to expect reasonable conduct in a manner similar to that of a teacher in a classroom.

8. Reach their assigned seat in the bus without disturbing or crowding other pupils.

9. Obey the driver promptly. The driver is in complete charge while the transportation vehicle is in operation.

10. Keep the bus clean and sanitary, neither smoking nor drug use is permitted. No chewing gum, candy, soda, ice cream or other food is permitted on the bus at any time. No playing of radios or tape players is permitted without a headset. Skate boards, scooters, and roller blades are not permitted on the school bus or vehicle used to transport students. No animals are allowed.

11. Be respectful to other students and to the bus driver.

12. Be respectful of bus equipment. Damage to seats and other parts in often unnecessary and always costly. Students will be held responsible for any and all damage to the bus perpetrated by them.

13. Remain seated until the bus stops to load/unload. If crossing in front of the bus is required always look left, right, left and if all is clear and traffic is stopped, then cross the road in front of the bus.

14. Improper behavior on the bus may result in an immediate suspension of bus privileges and if the situation reoccurs, the bus privileges may be suspended for the remainder of the school year.

15. Parents/Guardians and visitors are not permitted to enter or ride a school bus. Under penalty of law a parent or visitor can be fined for boarding a bus without proper clearance from the bus driver. (PA Code 23.6)

ADULTS SHOULD NOT BOARD THE BUS

§ 5517. Unauthorized school bus entry. (a) Offense defined. A person who enters a school bus without prior authorization of the driver or a school official with intent to commit a crime or disrupt or interfere with the driver or a person who enters a school bus without prior authorization of the driver or a school official who refuses to disembark after being ordered to do so by the driver commits a misdemeanor of the third degree. (b) Notice. A school district may place a notice at the entrance of the school bus that warns against unauthorized entry. (June 11, 1998, P.L.460, No.65, eff. 60 days) 1998 Amendment. Act 65 added section 5517.

To help with securing safety on the bus and to keep the bus moving on its designated route and on time, we ask that you do not stop the bus in anyway. If you have a concern about a bus or students safety, please contact one of the following:

1. School Office your child attends

2. Upper Perkiomen School District Transportation Department

3. Bus Company

The School, Transportation Dept. and Bus Company will work together to help in resolving your concerns in as quickly a manor as possible.

If you need an alternative stop location for your elementary school student's child care location for the upcoming school year please fill out the Child Care Transportation Form. If you need an alternative stop due to a child custody agreement, please fill out the Child Custody Transportation form. Upon completion return the form to the address or fax number listed at the bottom of the form. Remember, at the end of every school year all alternative stop locations are removed and students return to their home stop. A new form must be submitted at the beginning of every school year.

Alternative Transportation Guidelines

The district shall transport students in grades K-5 who are picked up or dropped off at a destination other than their home on a daily basis for the purpose of child care. Transportation will not be provided for any day care facility located within a walking boundary or outside of the district. The parent(s) of students in child care must submit a written request to the Upper Perkiomen School District Education Center each year for review and approval.

The following conditions must also be met:

In order to be effective for the beginning of each school year, the Child Care Transportation Form with parent signature must be submitted by August 1st. Late requests and requests made during the school year, may take up to 2 weeks to complete.

1. Such students must board or disembark at an existing stop on the regularly scheduled bus route. We will not reroute buses to accommodate child care requests.
2. There must be space available on the bus.
3. Such students will be accepted on a first come, first-served basis.
4. Such students may not continue to ride the bus if other students, eligible for transportation under the foregoing provisions, are assigned to the bus causing the bus to reach its rated capacity.
5. All requests must be for a minimum of two weeks.
6. A request to ride an alternate bus, for a temporary situation, will not be issued.
7. Subject to the foregoing, not more than three (3) requests for change in location to accommodate a modification of child-care arrangements may be sought during a school term. Split schedule requests will only be accommodated one (1) time per school year.
8. Eligible stops are accredited child care centers that are within 3 miles of the student’s Elementary school boundary; all other stops, family/neighbor/friend, must be within the student’s Elementary school boundary.
    

Changes could take up to two weeks to be implemented.
You will be notified by the Transportation Department with the effective date.