Routing & Scheduling Policy
Transportation Department
196 Power Company Road • Springfield, GA 31329
Phone: (912) 754-3574 • Fax: (912) 330-1618
Transportation Routing & Scheduling Policy The Effingham County Board of Education provides bus transportation to all eligible resident students. Bus transportation assists and supports both schools and parents in ensuring student attendance, offering safe and efficient access to school campuses from all areas of the county.
The School Superintendent is responsible for bus scheduling and routing and delegates these responsibilities to the Transportation Coordinator. All routing and scheduling shall comply with the existing state and federal laws, and Georgia Board of Education policy. At no time will a bus be operated with an overload of more than 20% of the manufacturer's rated seating capacity. Routes are designed in each school attendance zone, with bus stops established according to the location of students so that they travel the shortest practical distance between home and school. All students shall ride the bus assigned to them, boarding the bus in the morning and getting off the bus in the afternoon at the designated stop closest to their home.
In an effort to maintain the most efficient transportation system possible, the board adheres to the following guidelines when altering any established bus route and/or specific stop:
The School Superintendent is responsible for bus scheduling and routing and delegates these responsibilities to the Transportation Coordinator. All routing and scheduling shall comply with the existing state and federal laws, and Georgia Board of Education policy. At no time will a bus be operated with an overload of more than 20% of the manufacturer's rated seating capacity. Routes are designed in each school attendance zone, with bus stops established according to the location of students so that they travel the shortest practical distance between home and school. All students shall ride the bus assigned to them, boarding the bus in the morning and getting off the bus in the afternoon at the designated stop closest to their home.
In an effort to maintain the most efficient transportation system possible, the board adheres to the following guidelines when altering any established bus route and/or specific stop:
- The board does not provide bus transportation to students residing within one and one-half (1-1/2) miles of the school they attend, unless they deem it a safety concern;
- Students who reside one-quarter (1/4) mile or closer to the scheduled bus route shall be required to meet the bus at a designated stop on the prescribed bus route.
- If students reside more than one-quarter (1/4) mile from the scheduled bus route, the route shall be altered, so that these students will be picked up at a location within one-quarter mile of their home provided the following criteria are met:
- there must be adequate turn-around space for the bus;
- the road must be adequately maintained so that its condition does not cause excessive wear and damage to the school bus;
- the road must not present any safety hazards for the driver or other riders.
- must be a public road.
Following state safety guidelines, the Effingham County Board of Education will not alter bus routes during inclement weather and will only pick up and drop off students at designated stops. It is the parent's responsibility to have their child/children at the designated bus stop with an umbrella, rain coat or meet the bus in their private vehicle at the bus stop.
During severe weather, the Effingham County Board of Education may delay the pickup and/or drop off of students until they deem it safe.
Students shall comply with all Effingham County School Code of Conduct requirements while traveling on the school bus. Students violating the code while riding the bus are subject to punishment as addressed by the Effingham County School Code of Conduct. Updated: 3/23/2017