Ralston Elementary School

Because our bus service will be inconsistent, Jeffco families will not pay any bus fees again this year. 

School district policy determines who is eligible for transportation according to the distance from which they live from their school and their grade level. Per Board Policy EEA:

• Elementary walk in distance is approximately one mile
• Middle school walk in distance is approximately two miles
• High school walk in distance is approximately two and one half miles

Transportation eligibility for students with special needs is evaluated through their Individual Education Plan (IEP). Transportation is determined by the Transportation Department and the Student Success Office, after the completion of the IEP. Principals, teachers and/or parents should contact the Student Success Office at 303-982-0088 to initiate transportation or request changes to existing transportation.

School district policy determines who is eligible for transportation according to the distance from which they live from their school and their grade level. Board Policy EEA states that the elementary walk in distance is approximately one mile.

Transportation eligibility for students with special needs is evaluated through their Individual Education Plan (IEP). Transportation is determined by the Transportation Department and the Student Success Office, after the completion of the IEP. Principals, teachers and/or parents should contact the Student Success Office at 303-982-0088 to initiate transportation or request changes to existing transportation.

The reality of our school bus driver shortage has created conditions where less than ideal decisions had to be made. Every effort has been taken to provide some transportation to students rather than cancel their entire bus route and some students will have a one-way bus ride either to school or home, but not both.

Hub stops are a creative approach designed to serve the most students possible with transportation services. We acknowledge that having buses come into all neighborhoods is most convenient for students and families, but that model is no longer sustainable given the national school bus driver shortage.

It is the standard practice of school district transportation services to develop bus routes just prior to the start of the school year as that is the time when families complete their annual back-to-school registration and notify the district if they intend to use transportation services.

School bus transportation is the safest mode of ground transportation in the United States, and is 172 times safer than a private vehicle. 

Jeffco buses meet or exceed the standards for protecting riders in the event of an accident and the majority of Jeffco school buses do not have seat belts. Providing school buses with seat belts is not federally mandated. School buses use compartment structuring in the passenger area, which includes very high seat backs and extra thick padding. This construction helps to protect against injury.

Neck and head injuries may occur if students used a lap belt in a school bus because the seats on a bus are closer than a conventional car and an upper shoulder strap anchoring belt system is not practical. Additionally, in the event of another vehicle impacting the side of a school bus, the floor of a bus sits much higher than most vehicles, also reducing the chance of injury to the passengers.

Stringent rack-n-load and body frame strength requirements prevent school buses from sustaining damage when a collision occurs. School bus driver's requirements and ongoing training contribute to the safe reputation of Jeffco drivers. Drivers are required to be physically fit, maintain special licenses –including federally mandated endorsements– and have annual state requirements to adhere to. 

For a brief overview of the requirements of Jeffco school bus drivers visit our Become a Member of Transportation and Fleet Services page. For current national statistics, issues, and recall information visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration page.

Bus drivers collect student belongings that have been left on their bus and bring them to their terminal lost and found box. The driver usually keeps clothing and small articles on the bus near the driver compartment for several weeks before putting them into the lost and found box. Large and certain other items (band instruments, large backpacks with books in them, cell phones, etc.) are brought into the terminal office for safekeeping.

Have your student ask the driver about items left on the bus.

Alternatively, you may call the terminal that services your school on any school day, 5 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. The office staff will contact the driver to try to locate the item immediately. If the article is located, you may have it brought into the terminal office for you to pick up.

Have your student arrive at the bus stop five minutes before their scheduled pick-up time, waiting outside and in plain view of the driver. The driver will not leave the stop until the scheduled pick-up time, however, the driver cannot wait for late riders. Drivers or bus assistants are not allowed to go up to houses or honk the bus horn.

Prepare your student for longer waits in inclement weather. Ensure that they are dressed in suitable clothing to wait additional time at the stop,(usually less than 15 minutes. 

Have a backup plan. Jeffco buses and their drivers are reliable, however, there will always be conditions beyond their control that may cause a late bus. Parents should have a backup plan for when a bus is running extremely late or breaks down before reaching their students' stop. If you have left for work, the student needs to be able to get back into their home and be able to call you and/or the school.

Have a neighbor, or reliable student buddy at the same stop, for your student to go back home with. Have an alternative safe place where they can go in case you are not home and instruct them to call you or the school.

Given the current workforce challenges that continue to contribute to bus driver shortages in Jeffco, Colorado and around the nation, the district is not in the position to consider granting temporary permissions for students until September 5, 2023.

The Transportation Department will prioritize restoring service to all transportation-eligible students on a route before considering providing service to students who are not eligible for transportation.

Call the terminal that serves your student’s school and ask to be put on a first-come, first-served consideration list.

Jeffco Public Schools is committed  to providing reliable, efficient service in the ongoing national shortage of bus drivers. We have worked diligently to provide consistent transportation services to as many students as possible by:

• Increase staffing: We have increased recruitment and retention efforts to bring in new drivers and keep the drivers we have.
• Re-routing: We have evaluated every route to maximize the number of students buses can transport on each route. This includes creating more hub stops and using contracted driver services.
• Collaboration with schools: We are partnering closely with school principals to ensure safe and efficient drop-off and pick-ups.
• Restoring services: We will commit to adding services back as employees are hired.

The student’s privilege to ride a school bus is contingent on their behavior as governed by the Student Contract. The rules and consequences for student behavior on the bus and the Student Contract are located on the Student Conduct on School Buses page.

Additionally, these rules are included in the Code of Conduct issued by each Jeffco public school. Inappropriate behavior, which is described in the contract may result in suspension of bus privileges.

The program includes a progressive series of consequences, depending on the severity of the inappropriate behavior. Usual steps may include:

A verbal reminder is given to the student that they will be suspended from the bus if they are to break the agreement again. The action is logged in a discipline behavior log, and the parent may be called to be informed of the misconduct. The student may be assigned a seat.

The student's parent is called and the student may be removed from the bus for up to three days.

The student's parent is called and the student may be removed from the bus for up to two weeks.

The student may lose all bus riding privileges for the remainder of the school year.

The severity of the consequences are determined by the bus driver and the appropriate Transportation Supervisor/Training Department designee. Video cameras are available for monitoring students on any bus in Jefferson County, however, the driver's observance of a student's misbehavior is sufficient evidence in determining corrective action.

Like many school districts across the country, Jeffco Public Schools continues to navigate the national school bus driver shortage and augment staffing needs where needed by hiring reputable contracted partners and reimbursing eligible families who choose to transport their own student(s).

Car service providers are specifically contracted to help transport students who meet specific criteria for special education and out-of-district placement needs. 

The following principles guided the routing process this year:

• High ridership numbers
• Higher numbers of at-risk students
• High numbers of students who were impacted by school closures in 2022-23
• Younger students
• Stops/routes that were farther away from schools