Jerome Joint School District No. 261

NONINSTRUCTIONAL OPERATIONS 8110

Safety Busing

Safety busing is the transportation of a student who lives less than one and one-half (1 1/2) miles from school

when, in the judgment of the Board of Trustees, the age or health and/or safety of the students warrants such

action.

The Board of Trustees will only consider requests for safety busing for students living less than one and one-half (1

1/2) miles from school when one or more of the following criteria are met:

1. unsupervised crossing of a heavily traveled multi-lane roadway requiring beyond-age-level

comprehension of complex traffic hazards;

2. walking along an arterial road and highway permitting fifty-mile-per-hour speeds;

3. crossing an intersection in competition with a high volume of right turning vehicles without the benefit of adult supervised crossing;

4. walking in the traffic lane of an arterial or collector street because of the absence of sidewalks or usable shoulders which are at least three (3) feet wide;

5. walking beside or over unprotected waterways;

6. walking routes which are temporarily interrupted by major road construction, building construction, or

utility construction;

7. walking routes interrupted by numerous high traffic volume business driveways;

8. other unique circumstances or extraordinary factors.

The existence of any of the above criteria does not automatically qualify an area for safety busing. The Board of

Trustees may also consider evaluation factors including but not limited to: traffic count, traffic gap times, posted

speed, width of roadway, width of walking area, length of time student would be exposed to area of concern, age

of pupils, number of pupils, and traffic control signs and markings, as well as written comments from parents,

patrons, and school personnel prior to a vote on the issue. Further, the Board of Trustees shall consider the

criteria set out in its measuring and scoring instrument, with an appropriate “cut off” for safety busing purposes

when the scoring element used indicates hazards that are “reasonable” for students to encounter during their

walk to and from school, which by this reference is incorporated and attached to this policy as Exhibit 1*.

Each year, no later than the regular board meeting in August, the Board of Trustees shall review and vote on all

requests for new safety busing locations. The Board may annually approve the formation of an ad hoc

supplemental transportation committee for the purpose of objectively evaluating all hazardous routes less than

1.5 miles from the students’ home to school, using the Board approved measuring instrument. The Superintendent

or their designee is directed to review all existing safety busing locations at intervals of at least every three years.

Cross Reference: 8100 Transportation

8120 Bus Routes, Stops and Non-Transportation Zones

Legal Reference: I.C. § 33-1501 Transportation Authorized

Other Reference: Standards for Idaho School Buses and Operations

Policy History:

Adopted on: 12/19/2006

Revised on: 05/26/2015

Revised on: 02/25/2020

Revised on: 08/25/2020

*Exhibit 1 - MEASURING INSTRUMENT FOR WALKING STUDENTS

School District: School: ______________________________________________________________________________

Location of Area Rated: ______________________________________________________________________________

Date Rated: _________________________________________________________________________________________

Rate the following by putting a circle around the appropriate number. The higher the number, the more hazardous the walking route.

Numeric

Score

Vehicular:

1. Average hourly traffic

during school arrival &

departure both morning &

afternoon.

Over

1000

1000-

901

900-

801

800-

701

700-

601

600-

501

500-

401

400-

301

300-

201

200-

101

100-

0

A.M. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

P.M. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

2. Truck traffic during

school arrival & departure

both morning &

afternoon.

Over 100 100-75 75-51 50-25 25-1 0

A.M. 5 4 3 2 1 0

P.M. 5 4 3 2 1 0

3. Posted traffic speed 55 mph

7

50 mph

6

45 mph

5

40 mph

4

35 mph

3

30 mph

2

25 mph

1

20 mph

0

Pedestrian:

1. Number of pupils Over

225

10

225-

201

9

200-

176

8

175-

151

7

150-

126

6

125-

101

5

100-

76

4

75-

51

3

50-

26

2

25-

1

1

0

0

2. Grade level Elementary

10

Middle School/Junior High

2

High School

0

Roadway:

1. Width of road Multi-lane

divided

highway, raised

or painted

median

Multi-lane

(two-way) or

Single-lane

w/left turn lane

Two-lane

Two-way

No-passing

Two-lane

Two-way

Passing

Two-way, no

street markings

Crossing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Exposure time walking

along (in minutes)

> 30

10

27-30

9

24-27

8

21-24

7

18-21

6

15-18

5

12-15

4

9-12

3

6-9

2

3-6

1

0-3

0

2. Shoulder or sidewalk

“Narrow” – under 3 feet

“Wide – 3-8 feet

No

shoulder or

sidewalk

Narrow,

unpaved

shoulder,

no

sidewalk

Narrow,

paved

shoulder,

no sidewalk

Wide,

unpaved

shoulder,

no sidewalk

Wide,

paved

shoulder,

no sidewalk

Sidewalk

all way

with no

breaks

Sidewalk

all way

with no

breaks,

shoulder or

utility strip

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 -10

3. Accumulative walking

area with no sidewalk

100%

10

90%

9

80%

8

70%

7

60%

6

50%

5

40%

4

30%

3

20%

2

10%

1

< 10%

0

4. Traffic control signs &

markings (score as many

as applicable)

No school signs

2

No pavement

markings

2

No traffic signals

2

No traffic lights –

Elementary Only

2

No crossing

guard –

Elementary Only

2

Environmental: (over)

Environmental: (continued)

1. Visual obstructions

(trees, shrubs, hills,

curves, buildings, etc.)

Comments:

Accumulative Exposure - % of Walking Route

100%

10

90%

9

80%

8

70%

7

60%

6

50%

5

40%

4

30%

3

20%

2

10%

1

<10%

0

2. Cross traffic pupil’s

direction of travel (streets

& driveways other than

single family home)

Comments:

Accumulative Exposure - % of Walking Route

100%

10

90%

9

80%

8

70%

7

60%

6

50%

5

40%

4

30%

3

20%

2

10%

1

<10%

0

3. Special conditions

(extraordinary factors,

fences, open waterway,

history of crime, etc.)

Comments:

Accumulative Exposure - % of Walking Route

100%

10

90%

9

80%

8

70%

7

60%

6

50%

5

40%

4

30%

3

20%

2

10%

1

<10%

0

Accident Rate:

Accident rate (vehicle &

pedestrian)

2 x Average for

Facility

1.6 x Average for

Facility

Average for

Facility

.75 Average for

Facility

.5 Average for

Facility

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0

TOTAL RATING:

Agency or Individual Contact Person W/Phone Number

Contacted Agency or

Individual Responsible

for Making

Improvements

State Highway District

County Roads

City Streets

Canal Company

Developer

Property Owner

Other:

Evaluator

Date Evaluated

GUIDELINES FOR TRANSPORTING STUDENTS LESS THAN THE MINIMUM

DISTANCE (11⁄2) MILES)

The “Rating Sheet for Walking Students” and “Safety Busing Request Forms” may be

downloaded through the SDE Web site at www.sde.state.id.us/finance/transport/

Idaho Code 33-1501 states: “Primary requirements . . . are the safety and adequate protection of

the health of the pupils.” Idaho Code 33-1006 further states: “(2) transporting pupils less than

one and one-half (11⁄2) miles as provided in Section 33-1501, Idaho Code, when approved by the

State Board of Education.” The following guidelines are suggested when reviewing and

evaluating “Safety Busing” applications. New safety busing sites shall be reviewed with this

guideline, and all safety busing sites shall be re-evaluated at intervals of at least every three

years.

1. Width of the shoulder of the road. Children should not be expected to walk upon the traffic

lanes of a highway. The speed, number and type of vehicles traveling any of the roadways

would indicate that traffic lanes are unsafe for pedestrians. Shoulder width on each side of

the roadway should be at least three (3) feet and should be maintained free of snow and

other obstructions.

2. Traffic count. There are usually more vehicles using main highways than using secondary

roads. However, a traffic count can be misleading because of variations at different times of

the day. Motorists hurrying to and from work during rush hours which coincide with school

hours present a hazard to children. Traffic counts should be taken during times students

would be required to travel the area in question.

3. Lack of crossing guards. Some districts provide school crossing guards at busy

intersections; others provide no extra protection for youthful pedestrians.

4. Lack of law enforcement. Posted speed limits are often ignored unless adequate enforcement

is provided. This can be hazardous to school children.

5. Ages of children. While certain conditions present a degree of hazard to people of all ages,

older students can be expected to accept more responsibility and exercise better judgment

than younger students.

6. Railroad crossings. Moving trains as well as trains stopped at crossings present hazards to

young peoples on their way to school.

7. Nature of traffic. A concentration of heavy truck traffic increases the hazards of any road.

Areas near large manufacturing plants or office buildings experience heavy traffic when

work shifts change.

8. Inadequate pedestrian safeguards near school areas. Shortly before the start and close of the

school day large numbers of vehicles converge on the school presenting extra hazards to

children who must walk.

9. Temporary hazards. Construction projects, street repairs, excavations, and similar projects

present additional problems and temptations to children walking to and from school.

10. Child molesters. Where children must walk through parks and other secluded areas, child

molesters may present a hazard. However, this category is difficult, if not impossible to

assess.

11. Inadequate protection around waterways. Where children must walk along or across ditches,

creeks, rivers, etc. without adequate protection, hazardous situations and temptations to

children are present, causing unsafe conditions. Length of required exposure should be

factored into assessment. Walking past versus walking along open waterways present very

different hazards.

12. School district administrators shall develop an objective measuring instrument, which

contains a scoring element for assessing hazards encountered by students while walking

from home to school routes. Districts may use the sample measuring instrument provided

by SDE, a sample of which available through their Web site. School districts shall re-

evaluate all safety busing sites within district boundaries at intervals of at least every three

years.

13. SDE recommends school district board of trustees annually approve the formation of an ad

hoc supplemental transportation committee for the purpose of objectively evaluating all

hazardous routes under 1.5 miles from the students’ home to school, using a board approved

measuring instrument. It is further recommended that the ad hoc supplemental committee

be made up of transportation professionals and student advocate representatives, i.e., city,

county, state traffic engineers, law enforcement professionals, district pupil transportation

supervisory personnel, district or other safety professionals, district and/or region PTA

representatives, etc. SDE further recommends that the chairman of the ad hoc supplemental

transportation committee report its recommendations to the local board of trustees at a

timely scheduled public school board meeting.

14. SDE recommends that school district administrators solicit route evaluation requests from

all interested patrons via school administrators.

15. SDE recommends that the objective measuring instrument and the related scoring element

be used in determining an appropriate “cut off” for safety busing purposes when the scoring

element used indicates hazards that are “reasonable” for students to encounter during their

walk to and from school. The philosophy for this recommendation is based on the

assumption that all students must encounter “some hazards” during the course of their travel

from home to school. The intent of the objective measuring instrument is to prioritize

and/or weight hazards. The district’s current safety busing “cut off” score is 50 points. The

district may re-evaluate the scoring element at intervals of at least every three years.

16. SDE recommends that each local school district evaluate and implement a pedestrian safety

program. This program should teach students of all ages how to deal with hazards to use

existing pedestrian facilities, and follow safe walking practices. This should be a continuing

program with positive reinforcement throughout the school year.

17. SDE encourages each school district and local governmental agency to upgrade their school

zones as changing hazards suggest and to employ crossing guards, install signing, and

upgrade pavement markings where appropriate.

18. SDE recommends that each school create or update a school route plan to provide for an

orderly review of the school area traffic control needs. The plan should consist of a simple

map showing streets accessing the school, existing traffic controls, established school

routes, and crossings. The number of school crossings should be limited to the fewest

possible required to safely accommodate the demand.