General Information & Bus Safety

Please note that at the beginning of the school year we do experience higher-than-normal volume of calls but someone in Transportation will answer your call. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We are always looking for a few good bus drivers!

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Bus transportation – the safest form of transportation – is provided for Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ students to and from school based on each school’s transportation zone. Staff at your child’s school can assist you with determining if your child will ride the bus to school or if you live in a non-transportation zone.

As required by the Commonwealth of Virginia, every bus driver attends special school bus training before transporting any of our students. The training consists of a minimum of 24 hours in the classroom and 24 hours behind the wheel. In total, every bus driver – including substitutes – spends at least 3 weeks to one month training to be a school bus driver. The school division’s training exceeds the state’s minimum requirements.

Parents are encouraged to read the Code of Student Conduct as it clearly outlines the conduct for all students while riding a school bus. To ensure the safety of our students, parents should consider sharing “watch” responsibilities with a neighbor so your children have an adult overseeing safety at their bus stops. Parents are encouraged to remind their children of acceptable behavior on a school bus.

Important Safety Tips

School Bus Safety Tips for Students

As a parent, you can help ensure our students arrive to and from school safely each day by practicing the following school safety tips:

Please consider sharing "watch" responsibilities with a neighbor so your children have an adult overseeing safety at their bus stops. If possible, use the buddy system and have your child travel in a group or with fellow students.
Be sure your child arrives at their bus stop 5 minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.
When the bus approaches, remind your child to stand at least 5 giant steps (ten feet) away from the curb and line up away from the bus.
Children should be taught never to run after the school bus if it has already left the bus stop.
Children should never run in front or behind the school bus to pick up something that he or she dropped or forgot.
Make sure you tell your child not to step onto the bus until it has completely stopped.
After the bus stops and the door opens, remind your child to take firm hold of the handrail and get onto the bus.
Never push another student while getting on or off the bus.
All students riding the bus should go directly to a seat and sit quietly. This allows the bus driver to concentrate on driving safely.
Students should never place any part of their body through the bus window.
On school bus routes that are dedicated to mid-day kindergarteners and preschool students, there should always be a responsible person waiting at the bus stop when children are dropped off from school. If not, the child will be returned to school and the parent will be contacted.
When outside of the bus, make sure your child is aware of the danger zones and is always within sight of the bus driver. The Danger Zone is a 10-foot wide area on all sides of a school bus -- an area where children are in the most danger of being hit. Children should be taught to stay 10 feet away from a school bus (or as far away as they can) and never go behind it. They should be told to take five giant steps in front of the bus before crossing so the driver can see them.
Students who are assigned a bus should ride that bus to and from school. Bus transportation ensures the safety of students who live long distances from the school grounds.

Road Safety Tips for Drivers

As the parent of a student, please review the following bus safety reminders for all motorists and share them with a neighbor or friend:

Never pass on the right side of a school bus where children enter or exit. This is illegal and can have tragic results.
Yellow flashing lights mean the bus is preparing to stop and load or unload children. Motorists need to slow down and prepare to stop.
Red flashing lights and an extended stop arm mean the bus has stopped and children are boarding or exiting the bus. Motorists must come to a complete stop a safe distance from the bus and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the stop arm is retracted, and the bus begins moving before they start driving again.
Watch out for children who may be thinking about getting to school, but may not be thinking about getting there safely.
Slow down. Watch for children walking in the street, especially if there are no sidewalks in the neighborhood. Watch for children playing and gathering near bus stops.
Be alert. Children arriving late for the bus may dart into the street without looking for traffic.
When approaching a bus stop with children waiting for the bus, slow down and drive with caution. Children are unpredictable with their behavior and they may accidentally step into the street unaware of traffic.

Safety Tips for Students Walking to School

Children should walk on the sidewalk. If there are no sidewalks and your child must walk on the road, walk facing traffic.
Children should be reminded to cross streets only at corners or crosswalks.
When crossing a street, remind your child how important it is to look left, then right, then left again before stepping into the road.
If a stranger approaches your child tell him/her to run away and immediately report the incident to an adult.
If possible use the buddy system and have your child travel in a group or with fellow students. As a suggestion, parents are welcome to organize a “group walk” so that students who walk to school could meet at a certain time and place and walk together in a large group. If you would like to help in organizing such a group, please call or visit the school office.
Whenever possible, please try to get the plate number of any suspicious vehicle in your neighborhood – particularly during the morning pick-up and afternoon delivery times. Please report this information to the police and the school.

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