Staff Members School Bus Guidelines

School City of Mishawaka staff members are to promote the following standards of bus behavior and safety:

• The Bus Driver is in charge of all bus riders. Driver attention and concentration diverted to riders takes away from the driving task. Staff members should assist in all possible ways to assure student control and compliance with good safety procedures.
  
  
• Food and beverages will be permitted on all athletic trips and on the Elkhart Area Career Center midday route. It is the responsibility of the school staff to remove any trash left on the bus at the conclusion of the athletic trip. If the driver needs to clean the bus, the group using the bus will be charged  for the time it takes to clean it.
  
  
• NO gum is allowed on the school bus.
  
  
• Students are to remain seated in a designated bus seat. All passengers are to refrain from standing or moving about the bus while it is moving. Students are not to sit, lie, or sleep on the floor of the bus.  Aisles must be kept clear and the emergency door should not be blocked.
  
  
• Talking is to occur in moderate, conversational tones. The noise level must be kept at acceptable levels to ensure the safety of all individuals on the school bus.
  
  
• School bus windows and doors may be opened and closed only upon permission of the driver. Hands and arms may not be extended out of the windows. The emergency door will be used only to board or disembark the bus in an emergency situation.
  
  
• Staff and students will remain seated until bus comes to a full stop and door has been opened by the driver.
  
  
• Behaviors that promote unsafe conditions will not be tolerated. The driver may insist that student/staff behavior conform to an acceptable standard that promotes school bus safety. The driver may interrupt a field/athletic trip and return to the school if inappropriate student/staff behavior creates   unsafe conditions.
  
  
• When taking students to out of town functions after school/weekends, students are to ride the bus back to the school where they were picked up. Drivers are not approved to take individual students home.
  
  
• Due to limited buses, parents who are asked to chaperone bus trips may ride the bus only if there is room. If bus is full, chaperones are asked to drive their own vehicle. Preschool children should not ride the bus due to car seat regulations. Only students in field trip class are to be on bus. If a parent/chaperone wishes to take small children/siblings, they must drive their own vehicle and are responsible for their own expenses.