Descriptor Code: IEAE
Bus Idling Policy/Procedure
The Board of Education recognizes the need to promote health and safety of district students and staff and to protect the environment by reducing harmful emissions from vehicle exhaust. For the purpose of this policy, an idling school bus is a bus that is parked or stopped at a school or location and has its engine running. This policy applies to the operation of every district-owned and/or contracted school bus and vehicle. The district strives to eliminate all unnecessary idling of district vehicles.
United Public School District #7 and many other districts across the country observe bus idling regulations while keeping in mind weather restrictions. At United Public School District #7, that means idling no longer than three minutes in a loading zone when temperatures exceed 25 degrees. In temperatures between zero and 25 degrees Fahrenheit, bus drivers may idle engines as necessary for up to 15 minutes to provide warmth for themselves, passengers, and to prevent windows from fogging. United Public School district #7 has no restrictions on idling when the temperature is below zero.
Exceptions to the idling regulation are made for wheel chair buses loading multiple wheelchairs, school buses transporting medically fragile students needing continuous warmth, buses that may not restart due to mechanical malfunctions, off-site overnight locations such as hotels where vehicle plugins are not available, situations that require operation of the headlights and four-way flashers for visibility purposes, and emergencies.
Bus Idling Policy/Procedure
The Board of Education recognizes the need to promote health and safety of district students and staff and to protect the environment by reducing harmful emissions from vehicle exhaust. For the purpose of this policy, an idling school bus is a bus that is parked or stopped at a school or location and has its engine running. This policy applies to the operation of every district-owned and/or contracted school bus and vehicle. The district strives to eliminate all unnecessary idling of district vehicles.
United Public School District #7 and many other districts across the country observe bus idling regulations while keeping in mind weather restrictions. At United Public School District #7, that means idling no longer than three minutes in a loading zone when temperatures exceed 25 degrees. In temperatures between zero and 25 degrees Fahrenheit, bus drivers may idle engines as necessary for up to 15 minutes to provide warmth for themselves, passengers, and to prevent windows from fogging. United Public School district #7 has no restrictions on idling when the temperature is below zero.
Exceptions to the idling regulation are made for wheel chair buses loading multiple wheelchairs, school buses transporting medically fragile students needing continuous warmth, buses that may not restart due to mechanical malfunctions, off-site overnight locations such as hotels where vehicle plugins are not available, situations that require operation of the headlights and four-way flashers for visibility purposes, and emergencies.