Buses

Bend-La Pine Schools provides transportation services for students more than 1 mile from school of residence. 

Bend-La Pine Schools offers transportation services for secondary students more than 1.5 miles from school of residence. 

Students on Area Change Requests (ACR) must provide their own transportation (Board Policy JECBB-AR).

Students attending Choice Option Schools are transported using MIT routes (Magnet, dual immersion, tag) utilizing community stops. Student stops may be further than neighborhood stops to accommodate broader area. 

Students with accessibility needs may access specialized transportation if they are unable to access school without it, AND their IEP states transportation as a related services.

• Keep your body and all objects to yourself and inside the bus.
• Remain seated until it is time to get off the bus.
• Stay in the "Safety Zone" away from the bus.
• Only cross in front of the bus as directed by the school bus operator.
• Do not run near the bus.

• Follow directions.
• Be kind to others.
• Use appropriate language and speak quietly.
• Keep your belongings in your backpack and not touching others.

• Keep your area clean.
• Arrive to your bus stop 5 minutes before scheduled time.
• Know and follow bus expectations.

Prohibited items: Animals, glass containers, aerosol cans, long-boards, fishing poles, snowboards, hockey or lacrosse sticks, weapons or look-alike weapons, golf clubs, helium balloons, skis, shovels or laser pens.

Roller blades, skateboards and shoes with wheels must be transported in a duffel bag or backpack. Skateboards may also be transported if they are securely attached to a backpack. Craft projects must be in a bag or box. Any item used in an unsafe manner may be confiscated and the student must bring a parent or legal guardian to the Transportation Administration Office to retrieve it.

You can review the Student Code of Conduct for School Buses, as outlined by the BLS School Board, at this link.

EEACC-AP_ Student Conduct on School Buses 📄(PDF)

If your child fails to return home at their expected time, please contact the school first. Keep in mind there may be many reasons for a bus to be late on its route:

• Substitute school bus operator
• Mechanical problems
• Traffic delays
• Inclement weather
• Construction detours
• Please install the My Ride K-12

The district maintains a discipline and appeals procedure to ensure students follow student conduct and safety rules while riding the school bus. In most cases, at least one warning will be issued prior to the suspension of transportation. Suspension may be appealed in writing to the Director of Transportation.

Call the Transportation Department at 541-355-5700 in Bend or 541-355-5750 in La Pine during non-route times (9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.) for non-emergent issues. If you have a safety concern or other urgent matter, call at any time.

• You may be able to correct this yourself by logging into ParentVUE and make sure your student's address information is correct, including directional indicators (NE, NW, etc.). We are unable to make changes to your address at our location, please contact your school to make this change.
• If your address information is correct, AND your student attends your school of residence AND you live outside the walk boundary, call transportation to have your student routed.
• If your student attends a program that is outside your school of residence boundary, (i.e. TAG or Dual Immersion), call transportation to have your student routed.
• If your student attends a choice (Realms Middle School, Deschutes River High School, etc.) call transportation to have your student routed.
• If your student attends a school outside of your school of residence boundary, transportation is not provided. You may apply to receive a "courtesy ride" by completing a request form found above. Courtesy rides are filled based on availability beginning November of the school year. Bus stops will not be added for courtesy rides.

Please do not call the transportation office.

• Watch or listen to local weather reports
• Sign up for BL Connect
• Check the Bend-La Pine Schools website
• Check the Bend-La Pine Schools Facebook page
• Download the My Ride K-12
• If there is a "Two-Hour Delay", please do not call the transportation office to find out what time your bus will arrive
  • Add 2 hours to their regular stop time (i.e. if the bus usually arrives at 7:25 a.m., expect it to arrive at 9:25 a.m.)
  • Download the My Ride K-12

• All students must be registered in order to ride a school bus.

• Your student must be registered to ride the same bus as their friend.

• If your student rides the same route as their friend, they may get off at their friend's stop provided prior arrangements have been made, and they have a note from home or the school office.

School buses must follow all the traffic regulations that apply to individual motorists. Oregon school buses are equipped with flashing amber and red lights in the front and rear of the bus near the top. The flashing amber lights are turned on to warn traffic that the bus is preparing to stop. When the red lights begin to flash, drivers traveling in either direction on any road, street, or highway must stop before reaching the bus and remain stopped until the flashing red lights are turned off. The school bus law applies if you are on a highway with two, three, or four lanes of traffic and does not have physical median.

Bend-La Pine Schools may utilize charter bus services as needed for student transportation. All charter services are provided by student activity bus certified providers as authorized by the Oregon Department of Education. Parents will be notified prior to the use of a charter bus.

Video cameras are installed on Bend-La Pine Schools’ transportation vehicles (Board Policy EEACCA-AR).