Information for Parents

Absences/Illnesses

In the event of an extreme family emergency which may require a temporary change in your child’s pick-up/drop-off, please contact Prismatic. We will need to know details about the temporary pick-up/drop-off location, the name of the person authorized to receive your child from the stop, as well as a contact number for that authorized person.

If your child is receiving bus transportation services and will be absent, please contact Prismatic Services to let us know your child will NOT be riding the bus.

If your child misses the bus in the morning and you want bus transportation in the afternoon, please contact Prismatic.

If your child becomes ill on the way to school the driver will notify dispatch. Dispatch will notify the school to have a staff member meet the bus.

If the child gets sick within 5 minutes of pick-up, the driver/monitor will call the parent and return the child home.

Sick children cannot be transported on the bus. Parents must arrange to pick up a child who becomes ill at school.

TB testing drug and alcohol screenings, for drivers and monitors are done on pre-employment, post-accident, probable cause, and random basis. In addition, every driver and monitor is required to attend special training sessions and 2 refresher courses each year where they are instructed in the needs of children being transported.

Although not required by law, Ulster County provides an additional safeguard by screening monitors under the same strict guidelines that New York State requires bus drivers be screened.

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities

We want your child to have a great bus ride! Here is how you can help us make that happen:

• Make sure your child understands that eating and drinking are not allowed on the bus. Please do not send bottles, pacifiers, or toys on the bus. Food or other transportable items should be placed in your child’s backpack.
• Have your child ready to board the bus 10 minutes before the scheduled pick-up time.
• Watch for the bus. The driver is not permitted to blow the horn. The driver is not permitted to wait longer than 3 minutes past the scheduled pick-up time before they must move on to the next stop. Once the bus is in motion, the driver cannot return.
• Remember that due to absences or other student, road conditions, traffic conditions, and/or the weather, buses may run early or late on some days. Your bus company will try to notify you if your bus is running more than 10 minutes early or late.
• Understand that drivers and monitors are not permitted to make any special arrangements with parents. The bus driver will pick up and drop off in front of your home, if possible. However, the driver cannot enter driveways, turn in parking spots, back down roads, go down private roads, or do any maneuver with the bus which is potentially unsafe. In such instances your child will be picked up or dropped off at the nearest cross street.
• Notify the bus company 60 minutes prior to your child’s pick-up time if your child will not be needing the bus to and/or from school on a particular day.
• Notify the bus company if your child leaves school early.
• Notify the bus company if you transported your child to school in the morning, but you would like to have them ride the bus in the afternoon.
• Keep your contact information up to date.
• Have an authorized person at the bus stop each afternoon. A person on your child’s emergency contact list must be at the drop-off location when the bus arrives with photo ID. If someone on your emergency contact list does not have photo ID, we can create a password for them. Contact Prismatic to set one up.
• Make sure the authorized person at the bus stop in the afternoon has a photo ID or password every day. Even if the authorized person has shown ID in the past, please make sure to have ID readily available at all times just in case there is a substitute driver or monitor.
• Understand that if no one is waiting at the bus stop to receive your child, the bus will wait for 3 minutes, then move on to its next destination. The bus will not return until all other children on the bus have been taken home (this may be an extended amount of time). If there is no one at the location once the bus returns, the emergency contact(s) will be called. If an emergency contact cannot be reached, your child will be returned to school.  It will be the parents’ responsibility to pick up the child at the school.

Car Seats

Per the Department of Motor Vehicles of the State of New York Traffic Law (VT 1229 C11),

No Person shall operate a school bus unless all passengers under the age of 4 are restrained in a specially designed detachable or removable seat (or other approved restraining device).

The safety of the children in our program is of utmost importance. Therefore, the bus company will supply car seats for all children under the age of 4 as required by law. Children over the age of 4 may be secured on a bus seat with a seat belt while riding a school bus.

With parental permission, the bus company may use additional safety equipment to ensure your child’s safe transport.

Accidents or Medical Emergency

In the event of an accident and/or medical emergency, regardless of the severity, the driver will notify his/her dispatcher who will immediately notify Prismatic. All parents will then be notified by their bus company. The school and Ulster County DSS Preschool will also be notified.

If the driver determines that 911 should be called, no child will be removed from the bus until they are cleared by medical personnel.

School bus accidents fall under New York State’s “No-Fault” rules. If your child requires medical treatment as a result of a school bus accident, you must submit all bills to your automobile insurance company.