Students are eligible for bus transportation if they live more than 1.0 road mile from the school they attend. Exceptions are allowed for special education students who are not ambulatory and whose conditions require special transportation.

Submit a Transportation Request. Transportation requests must be submitted for each school year. Expect up to four (4) business days to complete the request. Do not show up to a bus stop until you have received bus routing information. The e-Link service is helpful in determining your school of residence, bus stop location, pick-up and drop-off times as well as bus number. Information is in real-time, so your route information will be current. You can find instructions on how to use e-link here.

If you use a childcare facility (daycare) that is more than 1.0 road mile from your student's school, daycare students may ride the school bus if space is available on that route. Please contact the transportation office at 360-804-2650 to check your child's eligibility for daycare school bus transportation. To determine eligibility, the transportation department needs the exact address of the childcare facility.

If your childcare facility is outside the district, contact the transportation department at 360-804-2650 to inquire about possible accommodations.

The parent/guardian is the person most knowledgeable about their child's abilities and in the best position to decide the safest and most appropriate way to get him/her to and from school safely. Some options for consideration for students who live less than one mile from school include walking; walking with a parent/guardian; walking in a group with other students/parents; being driven to school by a parent/guardian, grandparents, friends, childcare provider etc.; carpooling; riding bikes; and public transportation.

Routes are designed to serve all of our students in a safe and reasonable manner.  Every effort is made to establish school bus stops near students' homes. Additional considerations include keeping stops consistent for both morning and afternoon routes, a safe staging area off the roadway for students to wait, no school buses on private drives, and 500 feet of visibility both ways for oncoming traffic. If 500 feet of visibility is not possible, signage can be placed to warn upcoming traffic of a school bus stop ahead. At the middle and high school levels, the number of stops on a route typically decrease, and students may need to walk a bit further than they did in elementary school. Stop locations and distances may also vary depending on the number of students in a specific area as well as the type of area (urban/rural) being served.

Please complete the Transportation Request Form for a change in bus stop. Every request is evaluated, which often includes a visit to the area by transportation administrators before a decision about the request is made. If a stop change is approved, it typically takes 3-5 school days to implement. This allows us to notify other riders of the change and, when necessary, reroute a bus or buses. Other reasons to modify a bus stop include:

• Safety concerns - conditions at the established bus stop do not meet the bus stop selection criteria as defined by our district guidelines.
• Property owner complaint - receipt of a concern from a resident adjacent or close by an established bus stop.  If the concern cannot be resolved after working with the students and schools associated with the bus stop, a relocation of the stop will be considered.

Please contact your child's special needs teacher or case manager to begin the process for transportation services. Once the transportation office receives the transportation request from Special Services, we will add your child to a special needs bus route and provide you with bus information.

Bus routes range from 15-60 minutes in length depending on the school and area/miles covered by the route. Although the time from home directly to school may be only 5 minutes, routing requirements sometimes result in a longer ride. The Monroe School District transports an average of 55 students per bus with some buses making 25 stops per run. Stops are designed for an equitable ride time for all students. For example, if your student is first on in the morning, then they are typically first off in the afternoon.

The basic seating guideline for Monroe School District is three students to a standard (30" width) seat for students age kindergarten-grade 5 and two per seat for grades 6-12.  Allowances--depending on student size and seating space--may be granted. No standees are permitted on school buses. Drivers will not overload a bus. If an overload exists, an additional bus will be dispatched.

Compartmentalization is the school bus industry standard to provide the best protection for students. To comply, each rider must be seated face forward with nothing extended into the center aisle.

Monroe's 50+ regular drivers and substitute drivers meet the standards set by Washington State law. Each person attends and must pass an authorization training class and exam. The classroom lessons and behind-the-wheel training test their skills and judgment. During classes, drivers rehearse what might happen on a daily basis and practice emergency procedures. Each has current First Aid and CPR training as well as a commercial driver's license. Each driver is at least 21 years old, has passed an FBI and Washington State Patrol criminal check, and has passed a pre-employment drug test. Each year, our drivers complete continual in-service training and attend safety awareness and training sessions as well as random drug and alcohol testing.

Safety is paramount. When there is a storm or prediction of adverse weather, a network of staff members check district roads beginning at 3 a.m. This group tests weather and road conditions before making a decision about school closures or delays.

School buses are thoroughly inspected by the Washington State Patrol (WSP) twice each year. Additionally, our buses are inspected and routinely serviced by district personnel on a scheduled basis. Traveling by school bus is the safest form of ground transportation in the world.

With the exception of school field trips, parents and other adults are generally not allowed to ride school buses. Parents are allowed on a bus after they have completed the necessary paperwork to become a field trip chaperone.

• Oversized objects, such as athletic equipment and large musical instruments, that cannot fit safely on a student's lap or between their legs in a seat. Large objects restrict a student's ability to board the bus without harming themselves and others or risk damaging the bus. State law (WAC 392-145-021) requires objects to sit lower than the window ledge, which is approximately 29" high in a school bus.
• Glass objects such as bottles or jars.
• Open containers of food and drink or gum.

For a complete list, please visit the Bus Rules & Student Conduct page.

The Monroe School District Transportation Department is always looking for substitute drivers, and it offers training opportunities several times throughout the year. To learn more, please call 360-804-2659.