No law requires a parent to see the bus stop from home. Students in Ohio may be assigned to a bus stop up to one-half mile from their home, and we encourage parents to accompany their child to the bus stop whenever possible. This teaches the child safe habits of walking to and from the bus stop and may give the parent peace of mind. Bus stop locations are determined by each district’s board of education.

Many students walk alongside of roadways to reach their bus stop and in some instances no sidewalks exist. While we understand this may be of concern in some situations, the Department of Education does not promulgate bus stop placement. Issues relating to where a child’s bus stop is located and safety concerns along the way to the bus stop must be addressed with the district in which you reside.

As a parent, you should contact your public school district and request transportation. If it is not practical for them to do so, they will work with you to initiate a process to establish payment-in-lieu of transportation. Parents are not afforded the option of being paid for transporting their own child in cases where the service is provided by the district but is not the service parents prefer.

Ohio law requires children to be waiting at the bus stop prior to its arrival. Bus drivers count the students at the bus stop before they load and as they get on the bus to ensure all children are safely on board. If students are not waiting at the bus stop the bus driver cannot count them and cannot be certain the students are all safely on board. Waiting at the bus stop before the bus arrives further ensures that no one chases after the bus – this is a very dangerous thing to do. Many districts also instruct their buses to not stop at locations where no students are waiting.

A child who has an I.E.P. does not automatically receive transportation unless the I.E.P. team writes this into the related services. If transportation is not included on the I.E.P. your child will be transported similarly to regular education students in your district.

Our department provides daily transportation to 7 Westlake public schools, 6 special needs schools/locations, and 15 non-public schools. These schools are serviced by 42 school buses and 8 vans. This school year our vehicles are traveling 2309 miles per day on routes, as well as transporting 1561 students daily. Our mechanics service all transportation vehicles and an additional 7 maintenance trucks that the District owns.

The transportation policies of the Westlake Board of Education are aimed at providing a safe, efficient and economical method of getting students to/from school. It is the desire of the WCSD that transportation be scheduled in a way that best serves the educational interests of the students. The safety and welfare of students will be the first consideration in all matters pertaining to transportation. In an effort to continually stretch financial resources, efficiencies including single designated pick-up/drop-off locations and group bus stops will remain in effect. Our goal is to make your student's trip to/from school as timely, safe and pleasant as possible.

On days when Westlake City Schools are closed due to inclement weather or a calamity, ALL TRANSPORTATION services are canceled for ALL schools, this includes any non-public schools that we provide transportation for. Please check our District website at www.wlake.org or stay tuned to your local television stations for school closings.

Scheduled pick-up/drop-off times are approximate based on the student roster at the time the routes were created. Times may vary due to additional/withdrawn students. Weather conditions, road construction, traffic and train delays can also impact pick-up/drop-off times. Routes can tend to run slower for the first week or so of school.

We DO NOT use measurements based on internet mapping applications. Our distance calculations are in accordance with ODE Administrative Code 3301-83-01(G1a) which states, "Measurement of distance originates at a point on the traveled portion of the roadway nearest the primary entrance to the place of residence and then along the most direct route traversable, excluding interstate routes by motor vehicle, to the school bus loading area nearest and opposite the entrance door used by pupils transported."

In order for the WCSD Transportation Department to provide transportation to/from a location other than a student's home address, a form must be submitted to our department prior to July 29th in order for service to start at the beginning of each school year. Forms received after July 29th will not go into effect until September 6th (BOE Policy #8600). Forms received after September 6th will take a minimum of 5 working days to go into effect. The Transportation Department will transport the child if the following criteria are met: the childcare provider is within the designated area for transportation to/from the school of attendance; and the child must be transported to/from the childcare provider 5 days a week.

Service is for the entire school year or until permanently changed in writing. This will reduce the possibility of your child being taken to the wrong destination. Custodial care forms are effective for the current school year ONLY and must be completed on a yearly basis. This form can be downloaded from this webpage.

For those students who do not meet the eligibility requirements for transportation services, parents can submit a request for space available on the bus route closest to their residence. If there is space available and the request is approved, the parent agrees that their student will be assigned to an EXISTING bus stop on an EXISTING route; and the bus will NOT be rerouted nor a stop added for that student. Any requests approved are valid for the current school year only. Space available forms are reviewed only after September 15th in the order in which they are received. This form can be downloaded from this webpage.