Transportation
Welcome to the Transportation Department! We are committed to providing the safest, friendliest and most efficient transportation to our students.
- Bus Discipline Ladder
- Bus Rules
- BusWhere
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Become a Bus Driver
- Non-Eligibility Zone
- Parent/Guardian Responsibilities
Bus Discipline Ladder
School Bus Discipline Ladder
- Step One
- Two days of bus suspension
- 10 days of school probation
- Step Two
- Five days of bus suspension
- 15 days of school probation
- Step Three
- 10 days of bus suspension
- 20 days of school probation
- Step Four
- 20 days of bus suspension
- Step Five
- Student will be off of the bus for the remainder of the school year
**A student cannot return to the same step more than one time, regardless of the probation period.
Bus Rules
Parents and students should understand that riding the bus is an extension of the school day; the bus is considered a classroom on wheels. Students are expected to abide by the following rules. Failure to meet these expectations could result in the student’s removal from the bus.
“The Basic Four”
- Sit in your assigned seat, facing forward, feet and legs in front of you. Remain seated while the bus is in motion.
- Keep your hands, elbows, feet, legs, etc. to yourself, following the “hands-off” policy.
- Talk or speak to others in a respectable manner with an “inside” voice.
- Shouting, yelling, raising your voice or vulgar language will not be tolerated.
- Students may only have water (in a clear bottle) on the bus. No food or drinks allowed, as coffee and sugary drinks are sticky when spilled and may cause bugs. Other bottles used during school hours must have a secured lid and be kept in the backpack while on the bus.
Additional Rules
- Refrain from making obscene gestures, horse-playing and throwing objects on the bus or out of the window.
- Take care of school bus property.
- Report anyone who cuts or tears bus seats or damages property in any other way.
- Keep toys, games, spray colognes, hair sprays, deodorant, etc., at home or in your bags.
- Refrain from spraying colognes, etc., as those with allergies may be affected.
- School rules concerning fighting and the use or possession of weapons, tobacco, alcohol and/or drugs will be enforced on the school bus.
- School dress code should be followed at all times.
- Actions that the bus driver feels are unacceptable will be addressed with the student. All students are expected to obey bus drivers when told to correct or discontinue a specific action.
Continuous violation of any of the above behavioral expectations will be subject to the bus discipline ladder process. Special education laws will be applied as needed.
Actions Subject to Bus Dismissal
BusWhere
Sign up for our bus tracking system, BusWhere
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can students have cell phones or other electronic devices on the bus?
- Can my student ride a bus home with a friend to spend the night?
- Can a parent obtain a bus driver’s phone number to talk with the driver?
- If our family moves, how can we find out what bus my student will ride?
- Can my student bring a band instrument on the bus?
- Can a parent view the buses daily recorded footage?
Can students have cell phones or other electronic devices on the bus?
Can my student ride a bus home with a friend to spend the night?
Can a parent obtain a bus driver’s phone number to talk with the driver?
If our family moves, how can we find out what bus my student will ride?
Can my student bring a band instrument on the bus?
Can a parent view the buses daily recorded footage?
How to Become a Bus Driver
- Step One
- File an application for employment with the district.
- Step Two
- Obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
- CDL must have the Passenger (P) and School Bus (S) endorsements.
- Obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
- Step Three
- Attend the State Bus Driver Certification course required by the Mississippi Department of Education.
- Step 4
- Pass a health physical required by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
For more information, please call the Transportation Office at 601.583.4320.
Non-Eligibility Zone
A Non-Eligibility Zone (NEZ) is an area within one mile of a school, in which bus service is not provided.
According to state law, as follows, school bus service is provided only to students who live one mile or greater from the school in which they are enrolled:
- “MS Code 37-41-3 Pupils Entitled to Transportation; Pupils of legal school age, which Shall include kindergarten pupils, and in actual attendance in the public schools who live a distance of one (1) mile or more by the nearest traveled road from the school to which they are assigned.”
Parent/Guardian Responsibilities
- Parents and guardians should:
- Provide for security, safety and any necessary supervision of your student before loading and after unloading from a school bus.
- Understand and support school district transportation and school bus policies and procedures.
- Ensure your student understands the policies and procedures, and encourage them to comply.
- Cooperate with school officials, administrators and transportation personnel.
- Promptly communicate safety concerns to school administrators and/or transportation personnel.
- Avoid conversations that may distract a driver during loading and unloading.
- Acknowledge and support the authority of the driver and his/her reasonable efforts to ensure safety, order and discipline.
- Support reasonable discipline efforts of the school administration.
- Be aware of the dangers involved around bus stops.
- Understand students may be disciplined for misbehavior at or near a bus stop or on the bus.
- Ensure bus stop locations are understood and the bus driver has necessary information.
- Ensure that students arrive at the bus stop no less than five minutes before a pick-up time.
- Ensure that students are dressed appropriately for the weather and season.
- Students are picked up and delivered to designated bus stops only.
- A driver is not required to wait for students who are not at their stop in the morning.
- A driver is not required to wait for parents to receive students in the afternoon.
- The law (Mississippi Code Annotated) about school bus transportation, as follows:
- 37-41-2 Interference with the operation of the school bus; penalty
- (a) It shall be unlawful for any individual, other than a student scheduled to be a passenger upon that particular bus, a member of the public school administration or faculty, or a law enforcement official, to directly or indirectly interfere in any way with passenger ingress and egress or the operation, including unauthorized boarding thereof, of a bus used in public school student transportation unless permission has been obtained as prescribed by pertinent rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education or local school authorities.
- (b) Upon conviction of a violation of any provision of this section, such individual shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six (6) months, or both. Any person under the age of seventeen (17) who violates any provision of this section shall be treated as delinquent within the jurisdiction of the youth court.
- 37-41-3 Pupil entitled to transportation (paraphrased)
- Students living within one (1) mile of their school are NOT ENTITLED to school bus transportation.
- 37-41-2 Interference with the operation of the school bus; penalty