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Policy

At sites where transportation is not offered to all children, families can request transportation as family needs or changes dictate.

Procedure

Enrolled Family

  1. When a self-transport family lives within the site busing area and determines they need busing in order to get their child to school, they will contact the Family Support Coordinators (FSC).
  2. The FSC will contact the Regional Assistant (RA) with this information.
  3. The RA will determine if there is currently space on the bus that serves their home or child care address.
  4. If there is no space, the child will be put on the wait list for an appropriate bus.
  5. When an opening occurs on that bus, the RA will inform the FSC of the opening. The FSC will inform the family. The family will accept the opening or not. The bus schedule will be amended and the family will be notified of the pick-up and take-home times.
  6. The Regional Manager will have discretion to re-prioritize the wait list if needed.
  7. If a family has accepted a self-transport opening when they live outside the busing area of the particular site, they will be allowed to transfer to the site that provides busing to their address if the family circumstances fall within the Transfer section of the Enrollment policy (see Enrollment Policy)
  8. If Head Start asks to place a child in a non-transport site, the family will be allowed to transfer to a transport site closest to their home address when a slot becomes available.

Family on the Wait List

  1. If a family on the wait list has noted that transportation is required, the RA will ask if transportation is necessary when contacting the family about an opening for enrollment or when updating the wait list.
  2. If a family accepts the opening and transportation is required, the RA will add the child’s name to the wait list for the appropriate bus.
  3. If an opening occurs on a bus and there is not an opening for the child on the wait list, the RA will proceed to the next name (enrolled child or child to be enrolled into a current opening).
  4. If the number of children on the bus wait list is not sufficient to fill all openings in a site or classroom, priority for access to transportation may be give to a child who is not yet attending.

This policy meets Performance Standard 1302.14

Policy Council approved on 12/16/09

Reviewed: December 2020