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Students are eligible for busing if they live within their school boundary and their primary residence is located further than the distances listed below. Distances are measured by the shortest walking route on publicly maintained roads and/or walkways to the nearest access point from the school.
(a) PVNC (Catholic School Board):Students who reside within walk zones are expected to walk to school or to be transported by their families in a way they are comfortable with.
We are governed by eligibility policies of your Board. For further information, please click here for KPR policies or please click here for PVNC policies. These
policies provide transportation eligibility distances.
Each School Board sets attendance boundaries for its schools and programs. Children who reside within the attendance boundary of a school are entitled to attend that school, provided that they are accepted into the relevant program. Your local school can provide information on their respective attendance boundary.
You may also verify your designated school by visiting the Find a School webpage for your Board. If your child attends a KPR school, please click here. If your child attends a PVNC school, please click here.
You can also click here to view our School Boundary page in the Parent Portal, for both districts.
Prior to the first day of school, you may contact the secretary at your school or you may visit the Parent Portal to check your child's transportation information. STSCO encourages parents/guardians to check busing information each year, and sign up for email notifications. Please note that pick up and drop off times and locations may change from year to year or during the school year.
If any significant changes are made to your child's transportation during the school year, you will be contacted by STSCO.
Transportation to an alternate address for a daycare can be arranged if the following conditions are met:
Please keep in mind that not all daycare facilities receive door stops. Please check with your daycare provider to ensure that someone is accompanying your child to and from the designated bus stop.
Non-eligible riders are not permitted to ride any vehicle, even if the vehicle may have empty seats. This applies even if the student has a younger sibling who is eligible and assigned to the bus.
Contact the school and register your child, or, if the school remains unchanged, provide the new address information to the existing school. STSCO arranges transportation based on the information provided by the school.
STSCO and member School Boards support integration of students with special needs with their peers whenever possible. Therefore, first consideration is given to transporting students on a regular school bus route where possible.
If a student requires any accommodations due to medical condition or disability, parents should speak to their school Principal or Special Education teacher about transportation options.
The Special Transportation Request is submitted by the school on behalf of the parent to the Board for review. Only approved requests are sent to STSCO to arrange transportation that best meets the student's needs.
Centralized bus stops are used throughout the region, so it should be understood that students will be required to walk or otherwise travel a limited distance to and from the bus stop.
To fill out a Bus Stop Change Request (BSCR), please email info@stsco.ca or login to the Parent Portal and select Contact.
The stop location request will be reviewed by STSCO and a decision will be made and communicated to the parent/guardian.
Temporary transportation changes cannot be accommodated. Parents/or guardians traveling (i.e. Trips, conferences, etc...) throughout the school year are responsible for making their own arrangements for their children if they are at a caregivers/family friend for the duration of the parent/guardian's absence.
Only in situations where eligibility for service qualifies them each individually to be on the same bus can they ride together. For example, if one of your children requires an accessibility vehicle, it does not mean both your children will be transported via this vehicle.
JK students are governed by the same eligibility policy as all other students. STSCO will try to use centralized stops as close as possible to the younger students location.
If you have a concern regarding your child's bus driver, contact STSCO. When a concern is received by STSCO, the bus operator is contacted and the situation is investigated. It is important to know your child's bus number and to know if the concern is based on an isolated incident or persistent behaviour.
If you have a concern regarding student behaviour on the bus, you should contact the school. The bus is considered an extension of the classroom and the Principal of the school is responsible for following up with student behaviour issues.
If you have a concern regarding student behaviour on the bus, you should contact the school. The bus is considered an extension of the classroom and the Principal of the school is responsible for following up with student behaviour issues.
If the route is shared between two schools, and the behaviours involve a student from another school, please contact your Principal so that they can investigate the issue with the Prinicipal of the other school.
If equipment or other items cannot be stored on the student's lap or in their backpack, they are not permitted on the bus. Aisles must be kept clear at all times to ensure the safe evacuation of students from the bus in emergency situations. In addition, large objects often cannot be effectively secured inside the bus which can result in them becoming projectiles in the event of a hard stop or accident.
Any request to change a stop location, and transportation related services, must be submitted to STSCO. After reviewing the request, STSCO will notify the person making the request.
To fill out a Bus Stop Change Request (BSCR), please log in to the Parent Portal.
Drivers are employees of the bus operator and are not authorized to make any changes or accommodate requests. Bus operators are under contract with STSCO and therefore both the operator and the driver must comply with the Student Transportation Services Consortium policy and terms of the contract. A driver cannot and will not authorize requests or offer opinions on a stop location. It would be inappropriate to place the driver in jeopardy through demands contrary to policy or to their conditions of employment.
Some students require additional assistance when travelling to and from school. An adult bus monitor is a bus company employee who assists students identified by the School Board as requiring additional assistance.
The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) continuously monitors developments in the industry and works with our road safety and industry partners to assess additional safety features on school buses. Due to the unique design of school bus seating, Transport Canada does not require seat belts to be installed on school buses at this time, other than for the driver.
School buses are designed to protect passengers through compartmentalization. High-back seats with energy-absorbing seat backs and padding are closely spaced together to contain passengers in the seating position.
Transport Canada is responsible for setting safety standards for equipment, including seat belts, on new vehicles and would be responsible for making any possible changes in those standards.
STSCO recognizes the safety concerns and problems associated with loading buses to the maximum capacity of 70 passengers. The general guidelines used are:
Click here to read why there are camera's on school buses.
Were you unable to find the answer to your question?
If so, email
info@stsco.ca
or login to the Parent Portal and select Contact.
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