FILE: JCDAD
SCHOOL BUS CONDUCT
The DeSoto Parish School Board recognizes the operator of a school bus, together with the principal, to be in authority with regard to student behavior in or about the vehicle which he/she operates. School Board regulations regarding proper conduct on school buses shall be provided in writing to students and parents/legal guardians at the start of school each year. The operator shall report disorderly or unmanageable student conduct to the principal of the school in which the student is enrolled. Such conduct by a student shall be good cause for the principal to suspend the privilege of riding any school bus; however, operators may not administer disciplinary action and shall continue, except in extreme emergencies, to transport a student until disciplinary action is administered by the school. It shall be the responsibility of the parents of students, in such cases, to provide transportation to and from school during the period of bus suspension.
A student who causes damage to a school bus shall be subject to suspension from school and shall not be readmitted until acceptable provisions for restitution have been made for such damage or until readmittance is directed by the Superintendent.
At no time shall the bus operator assume authority for suspending bus privileges or taking disciplinary action as requiring a student to kneel or inflicting corporal punishment. If the conduct of a student becomes such that his/her removal from the bus becomes essential, an operator shall discharge the student at the student’s regular stop. A student riding a school bus shall never be unloaded along the highway except at the student’s designated stop, unless the student is endangering the lives of other children on the bus. When this is done, the operator must notify the parent as soon as possible of the incident and the action taken.
PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING BUS CONDUCT
All schools shall be provided with the School Bus Behavior Report Form, which shall be completed on any occasion when a student's conduct on a bus is unsatisfactory.
One copy of the School Bus Behavior Report Form shall be signed by the parent and returned to the school principal. In all such cases a student shall be permitted to continue to ride the bus until transportation privileges have been denied by action taken by the appropriate school administrator.
In cases of severe misconduct, the principal or designee may temporarily suspend the student's bus privilege until appropriate disciplinary action is taken. The student's parents should be immediately notified of the temporary suspension.
Immediately after taking disciplinary action, the principal, or designee, shall sign and shall indicate the disciplinary action taken on the School Bus Behavior Report Form. Copies of the report shall be distributed to the student's file; to the parent; and to the operator. A copy of the report may also be sent to the Superintendent or designee.
In the event of an appeal of the principal's decision by parents, a hearing may be scheduled by the Superintendent or designee.
Approved: August, 2004
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:223, 17:416, 17:416.1
Board minutes, 2-2-95
DeSoto Parish School Board