District 742 to standardize weekday bus stops; narrow waiver process for split custody

District transportation staff presented a proposed change to the bus stop assignment protocol intended to increase predictability and safety for drivers and students.

Shannon Avenson, executive director of community education and community partnerships, told the board the district transports about 9,000 students daily over more than 100 routes and that variable weekly drop‑off patterns create risks for substitutes and drivers. "Starting next year, each family will have one designated AM and one designated PM spot Monday drop off Monday through Friday," Avenson said, adding that the AM and PM stops may differ but must remain consistent Monday through Friday.

To accommodate custody arrangements, the district will create a split‑custody transportation waiver that requires a court‑ordered parenting plan showing both addresses, both addresses to be inside the student’s school attendance boundary, and that the bus already travels past the requested second location. Avenson said the district will not reroute buses or add stops to accommodate a second address and that even approved waivers will need a predictable schedule (for example, consistent week‑on/week‑off patterns).

Staff said fewer than 50 families across the district will be affected and that individual households will receive direct letters explaining how their routing will change; a web page with examples and a waiver application will be published when letters go out.

Board members asked whether parents may still occasionally drive their children and whether custody cases where one address falls outside an attendance boundary could be granted. Staff replied that occasional self‑transport remains an option but that waiver approval requires the listed criteria and that addresses outside the attendance boundary would not qualify for the waiver.

The proposal was presented for board review during the work session; no formal board action was recorded at this meeting.