A new transportation policy was approved by the Bay District School board members in Panama City, Florida. The new policy, which was implemented due to a school bus driver shortage, will impact the school bus eligibility of some students, reported WJHG 7.
According to the new policy, students must live more than one and a half miles away from the nearest bus stop in order to be eligible for transportation, unless they live near a hazardous walking zone that meets a certain criterion.
Hazardous walking zones could be students walking perpendicular to the roadway, walking a road where the traffic volume is 360 vehicles per hour, crossing an uncontrolled intersection or street, or where traffic volume on the road exceeds 4,000 vehicles per hour through an intersection or other crossing sites controlled by a stop sign.
Superintendent Bill Husfelt sent a letter explaining the new policy and the Florida statutes in full detail. Due to a school bus driver shortage at the district, officials are trying to avoid courtesy routes.
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