Transportation following school changes

Yes, as long as they live within the attendance boundary for the school and outside of the walk zone.

Yes, if they live in the bus zone for the school. If their address is located in the walk zone of the new school, they will not be eligible for the school bus. If they live near the bus zone, they may want to apply for a “Space Available” seat on the bus.

At this time, we do not anticipate needing the registration process for next year.

Yes, if your student has a transportation clause in their IEP, they will receive transportation services.

Yes, we do anticipate having enough drivers to cover the routes needed for the new attendance areas.

Possibly, but not necessarily. It depends on what order of the schedule that your stop is on. In general, the time budget for each tier of a route (elementary and secondary) is about 45 minutes.

We anticipate that some of our buses will have increased ridership. In most cases, this is a good thing as many of our current routes have many open seats. This will improve efficiency. We will monitor ridership and adjust or develop routes as needed to align with the new school boundaries and transportation needs.

Yes, stop times and locations may change as we reconfigure routes.,  Please check your student’s bus stop times and locations carefully when they are posted on Infinite Campus in early August.

Families are responsible to get their children to bus stops safely. Per Board of Education policy EEAA, students are generally expected to walk up to the following distances to a bus stop:

• 1.5 miles for elementary school
• 2 miles for middle school
• 2.5 miles for high school

Under Colorado law, the Board of Education is not required to furnish transportation. BVSD provides transportation according to Board of Education policy. Students with a transportation provision in their IEP and students eligible under the McKinney-Vento program have specific transportation rights.

Yes, the school bus is one of the safest and most regulated vehicles on the road. They are designed to be safer than passenger vehicles in preventing crashes and injuries. Our drivers are highly trained and receive over 100 hours of initial training plus ongoing professional development and evaluation.

Yes, we work with our municipal partners to make safety enhancements around schools, such as paths, sidewalks, crosswalks, school zone flashing lights, pedestrian activated rapid flashing beacons, traffic signal timing, etc. You can find additional resources on our Safe Routes to School webpage, including School Travel maps. For questions and concerns contact SafeRoutes@bvsd.org.

Here is an overview of the key factors we consider:

• The grade/age of students
• The speeds at which cars are traveling and the volume of  car traffic
• The infrastructure in place at the intersection, including traffic lights, stop signs, rapid flashing beacons, school zone flashers, curb bulb-outs, pedestrian refuge islands, signage, and pavement markings
• The width of the roadway, including the number of car travel lanes, bike lanes, medians, and car parking lanes
• Input from traffic engineers at our partner cities/counties, including crash history

• Space Available Busing: Families can apply for a “Space Available” spot on the school bus. Applications can be found on Infinite Campus. Please note, families must transport their children to an already established bus stop. No new stops will be created.
   
• Carpooling: BVSD has a carpool network set up for each school through the Schoolpool program from the Denver Regional Council of Governments. Invitations to join are sent out in late July. You can also email SafeRoutes@bvsd.org to receive your school’s invitation.
• Biking and Walking: Our Safe Routes to School team has lots of resources for families wishing to walk or bike to school, including school travel maps, bicycle and e-bike safety information, ideas for forming neighborhood biking and walking groups, and recommendations for areas to do a “park and walk” to get to school. Please reach out to SafeRoutes@bvsd.org with questions.

Yes, and we do monthly bike counts to monitor where we need to add extra bike racks.

Many schools have volunteer crossing guard programs. In order to become a volunteer, please contact your school.

We recognize that a new campus may bring changes to traffic patterns, particularly during arrival and dismissal. We have traffic flow plans for each campus and will continue to work with school principals and our partner municipalities to monitor traffic and identify opportunities for adjustments as needed. We also encourage families to consider sustainable transportation options, including riding the bus, walking, biking, carpooling, or using a park-and-walk option by parking a little farther from school and enjoying a short walk to start the day.