2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR TRANSPORTATION REQUESTS

The Wappingers Central School District Transportation Department reminds all parents that transportation requests to Private or Parochial schools, daycare facilities, and babysitters must be filed annually and be received by the District no later than April 1, 2019, for the 2019-20 school year.

These applications are available at all public, private and parochial schools. If you are new to the District, you must register your child before transportation is provided. Please call the Central Registration Office at 25 Corporate Park Drive, PO Box 396, Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 (845-298-5000 x40132) to schedule an appointment. Hours of operation are Monday - Friday from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm.

A proof of residency must be provided.

CHILDCARE TRANSPORTATION REQUEST FORM

YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR FORM(S) WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS OF REGISTRATION.

PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL & CHILDCARE TRANSPORTATION 
(MUST BE SUBMITTED ANNUALLY)

Transportation is provided for all school-aged students who reside in AND are registered in the Wappingers Central School District (WCSD) to schools in their respective attendance zones. When developing bus runs, safety, efficiency, capacity and length of time on the bus are all taken into consideration. This process takes several months and must be completed by late August.

IMPORTANT FYI: Even if you are uncertain before the April 1st deadline of your private/parochial school and/or childcare choice for the next school year, please submit your forms anyway. It is better to submit them on-time and then cancel, if necessary, than to not submit them. The annual April 1st deadline is instituted by New York State.
 

PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL TRANSPORTATION: WCSD students attending Private or Parochial schools are eligible to receive transportation services if the selected schools are within 15 miles of the students' district home address. Prior to selecting a Private or Parochial school, we encourage parents to contact the WCSD Transportation Department for an accurate mileage audit.

PLEASE NOTE: On days when we do not transport our own WCSD students, we do not transport Private and Parochial students either. We do not transport students who are not registered in our district. Only WCSD students can ride on our buses.

Requests for Private or Parochial school transportation must be filed no later than April 1st of the current school year for the next school year or transportation may not be available. Private or Parochial transportation request forms must be submitted every year. Forms can be obtained at the selected Private or Parochial school's Main Office, the Wappingers CSD Transportation office or click here. Private or Parochial transportation request forms do not carry over from year to year. If you become a district resident after the deadline, you must register your student in the WCSD and submit your Private or Parochial transportation request within thirty (30) days of establishing district residency, or transportation may not be available.

A change in designation of a non-public school or Day Care after the April 1st deadline constitutes a separate request. Late requests may be considered only if a reasonable explanation is provided for the delay and no extra cost to the District is incurred. The District has discretion to determine the reasonableness of the excuse. Explanations not accepted are ignorance or forgetfulness of the April 1st deadline; also, a belated parental decision to enroll a child in a non-public school or Day Care is not a reasonable excuse. Likewise, reliance on a non-public school or Day Care to submit a list of students requiring transportation is not a reasonable excuse for filing a late request.

CHILDCARE TRANSPORTATION: District students in grades K-8 are eligible for Childcare transportation. A student may be transported to or from the location of a childcare if the student's legal residence and the provider's location are both located within the boundaries of the District. Requests for Childcare transportation must be filed no later than April 1st of the current school year for the next school year or transportation may not be available. Childcare transportation requests must be submitted to your child's school every year, even if there is no change to your student's childcare information. Forms are not carried over from year to year. All requests must be set up for five (5) days per week. If not set up for five (5) days per week, a Childcare transportation request form is not required, HOWEVER, a daily note to school IS required.

Childcare facilities registered under Section 390 of the New York State Department of Social Services are entitled to transportation within the Wappingers Central School District (WCSD), provided the application is received by the April 1st deadline. Requests received after the April 1st deadline are considered a late file AND there is no guarantee that a bus will be available to and/or from your chosen childcare provider. After the annual April 1st deadline, Childcare transportation will be offered for an existing stop on an existing bus route within the child's individual school attendance zone and only if there is seating available on the bus.

Childcare transportation requests received after August 15th will be held at each school until September 30th, meaning you will not have Childcare transportation set up for the start of school and through the month of September, and there is no guarantee that your request can be accommodated so late. Bus routes are developed based on the information we receive prior to school starting. When information changes last minute, changes to those routes can add or remove stops, change scheduled pickup and drop-off times or add additional buses and drivers. Please ensure alternate arrangements are made in these circumstances. ALL bus routing is completed by the time school starts. 

A Childcare transportation request to or from a location that does not have a current New York State license/registration will be restricted to an existing stop on an existing bus route within your child's individual school attendance zone provided the request is received by August 15th.

If you become a district resident after the April 1st deadline, you must register your child in the Wappingers CSD and submit your Childcare transportation request within thirty (30) days of establishing district residency, or transportation may not be available.

The Principal or his/her designee must sign each Childcare Request Form. Forms are available in each school's Main Office or click here. Main Office personnel will send completed forms to Transportation to be processed. Any time a change is made, a new form must be submitted to school. Once Transportation receives the form, it can take up to five (5) days for processing.

A change in designation of a Day Care after the April 1st deadline constitutes a separate request. Late requests may be considered only if a reasonable explanation is provided for the delay and no extra cost to the District is incurred. The District has discretion to determine the reasonableness of the excuse. Those explanations not accepted for example are: ignorance or forgetfulness of the April 1st deadline, belated parental decision to enroll a child in a Day Care. Likewise, reliance on a Day Care to submit a list of students requiring transportation is also not a reasonable excuse for filing a late request.

We do not transport to or from Childcare facilities or babysitters located outside of WCSD boundaries.

PLEASE NOTE: UPON SIGNING AND SUBMITTING A CHILDCARE REQUEST FORM TO YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL, PARENTS/GUARDIANS CERTIFY THAT THEY HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE FORM AND THE INFORMATION THEY PROVIDE IS ACCURATE AND TRUE AND THE STUDENT IS UNDER THE CARE OF THE SPECIFIED CHILDCARE PROVIDER.

Every year numerous changes are received last minute and well past the deadline. These late changes are often accommodated at the expense of families who have made all of their arrangements on time, resulting in the need to move stops off of existing routes to make room and then putting those stops on other runs. Bus runs become more crowded and/or longer than originally planned, making all the routing that was done for the start of the school year no longer accurate. It just isn't fair to the families who have made all of their arrangements on time and have made plans based on the originally completed information regarding their child's bus stop times. If you have filed a late Childcare Transportation Request after August 15th, your child will be transported to and from school on their assigned neighborhood bus. Parents and Guardians who make other transportation arrangements must clearly communicate those arrangements to their child's school with a written and signed note every day. For your child's safety, Bus Drivers, Teachers, School Administration, and Transportation Staff need to know your child's proper bus and bus stop. Please be sure to update your child's school with any change in contact information as soon as possible.

The April 1st New York State Education regulation helps our school district budget costs for bus routing, keeping us within our Transportation budget. It's easier for us to shorten a bus route than it is to lengthen one. Any late transportation request that would result in overloading a bus or cause a rerouting of a bus will not be honored.

Our goal is the safe and efficient transportation for the students and families of the Wappingers Central School District.

Thank you. Your attention and timely response is greatly appreciated.