3541.5

Business/Non-Instructional Operations

Records and Reports

Transportation Complaints

All complaints concerning school transportation safety, shall be made to the Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee.  Superintendent or designee shall maintain a written record of all such complaints, and will conduct appropriate investigations of the allegations. These complaints will be forwarded to the Business Manager who shall provide the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles with a copy of the written record of complaints within thirty (30) days of the end of the school year.

Legal Reference:  Connecticut General Statutes

10-221c Development of policy for reporting complaints re school transportation safety.

Policy accepted:  December 18, 1995

Policy adopted:   March 18, 1996

Business/Non-Instructional Operations

Records and Reports: Transportation Accidents and Safety Complaints

Reporting a Bus Accident or Incident

1.  When a bus accident or incident occurs, the dispatcher should obtain the following vital information:

A.  Seriousness of the accident (an accident is defined as an impact of any kind WITH students on the bus).

Seriousness of the incident (an incident is defined as an impact of any kind with NO students on the bus).

B.  Location of Accident/Incident - Obtain the specific location (e.g., 0.2 miles from the intersection of Route 6 and School Street)

C.  Number of students injured, number of students on the bus, route number of the bus.

D.  School of students involved.

2.  The dispatcher then calls:

A.  Policy Emergency    911

B.  Ambulance    911

C.  Business Manager

      If unable to reach the Business Manager, call the:

D.  Superintendent

E.  If the Superintendent or the Business Manager are not available, the Principal of the school whose children were on the bus must be notified immediately.

3.  The Business Manager or the Superintendent then places emergency calls to:

A.  The Principal and nurse of the school nearest the accident.

B.  The Principal and nurse of the students' school.

4.  Remarks:

A.  If the accident is serious, advise the ambulance medics to contact other ambulance corps and the hospitals:

     Griffin  Hospital 732-7222

B.  If possible, find help in making calls to reduce response time.

C.  District doctor and/or school nurse are to check all bus passengers, including the bus or van driver.

D.  If the accident occurred at the p.m. run time, the bus driver is to inform the departing students that they are to tell their parents that the bus was involved in an accident and released by the police.

E.  Follow up and call Principals and nurses from the other buildings at the end of the emergency.

F.  The Principal or designated staff member will call all parents of those students who were involved in the accident as soon as possible after the children have been examined by the school nurse (if accident occurs on the way to school).

G.  The next day after the accident (p.m. run) a note is to go home to the parents or a telephone call is to be made to the home.

H.  The nurse will decide whether to make verbal contact or written contact to parents.

I.  The nurse will call parents of any child who is absent the day following the accident.

J.  The Superintendent and/or the Principal(s) involved should send a note home with the student(s) to the parents of each of the children on the vehicle(s) involved in the accident explaining the course of action taken and the facts involved.

K.  In the event of injury, the parents must be immediately notified by the proper school personnel (Superintendent/Principal(s)).

L.  The Chairperson of the Board of Education, or his/her designee, should be notified as soon as possible. Details of the accident should be made available to him/her at that time.

Regulation accepted:  December 18, 1995

Regulation approved:  March 18, 1996