What is safety busing?

The State of Idaho permits school districts to provide bus transportation for students who live outside a 1.5 mile radius of the nearest appropriate school (Code §33-1501). Exceptions to this rule can be made if the district’s Board of Trustees determines that a student's age, health, and/or safety are such that the district should provide bus transportation to that student, even if he/she lives inside the 1.5 miles radius of his/her school. This service is called safety busing. Safety Busing locations are re evaluated every three years.

The district has a Safety Busing Committee made up of people from the community and the school district. This committee’s job is to review safety busing practices and make recommendations to the Trustees to ensure the district is in compliance with state safety busing requirements. 

The committee review includes:

• After thorough evaluations the committee assigned safety scores across the district based on hazards students may encounter while walking to and from school in those areas.

• The committee recommended the district’s safety busing score be set at 50, which means students who live in areas with an assigned safety score below 50 are not eligible for safety busing. 

• Current Safety Busing Committee’s recommendations were presented to the Board of Trustees on July 8, 2024 which they accepted.