As long as your child is enrolled in the district, a bus will automatically be assigned.
VCSD Transportation Policies and Procedures
It is important for the Valley Central School District to know the whereabouts of every child within our care, therefore, students will only be permitted on the bus they are assigned unless they have a bus pass that can be obtained from their school’s main office.
The pickup and drop-off times allow for a ten (10) minute window. Students should be outside waiting for the arrival of the bus at least five (5) minutes prior to their scheduled time. Students should not be waiting inside their homes. No driver, under any circumstances, is allowed to blow horns or wait.
- Parents or guardians must be at the stop waiting for the arrival of Kindergarten through 2nd Grade and Special Needs students. If a parent is not present, students will be brought back to their school. If a parent or guardian is not planning to be present to receive their child, the Transportation Department must be notified in writing with the name of the authorized person who will receive the child.
- Only the Valley Central School District has the right to add or change bus stops. Bus drivers are not authorized to do so.
- Please contact the District’s transportation office directly for any transportation questions and concerns at (845) 457-2400 ext 18115. (If you need to reach the bus company outside of the District’s normal business hours, you may contact First Student at (845) 895-2463.)
- No one is permitted to “run down” a bus. If your child misses the bus at their stop, they may not board the bus at a different stop.
- Students are expected to display safe and positive behavior at all times while on the bus.
- Riding the school bus is a privilege, not a right.
ALTERNATE PICKUP / DROP-OFF REQUESTS:
An alternate pickup or drop-off is identified as any request for transportation that is not to or from the home address on record with the District.
Transportation to or from a location outside your child’s attendance zone must be to or from a certified daycare. The deadline to file a request is April 1, 2024. A certified daycare must be licensed pursuant to Social Services Law, Section 390.
If you will need alternate pickup or drop off within your child’s school attendance zone, the deadline to file a request is August 2nd in order for it to begin on the first day of school. An alternate pickup or drop-off is identified as any request for transportation that is not to or from the home address on record with the District. Alternate pickups and drop-offs can be within the student’s school of attendance area only. Requests received after August 2nd will begin on September 23, 2024.
Requests for alternate pick-up or drop off for transportation
Transportation to a Non-Public School
Pursuant to Section 3635 of the Education Law, requests for transportation to non-public schools must be received at the District Office no later than April 1st of the preceding school year or within 30 days of moving into the district. Failure to submit this form by April 1st may result in the loss your transportation privileges.
Proof of address must accompany the request for transportation each year.
All students living in the Valley Central School District, whether attending private or public schools, must be registered through the district’s Registrar’s office. If you have a new student, you must contact the Registrar’s office at 845-457-2400 x18130. We can not process your request for transportation until the Registrar has verified your child’s information.
In accordance with Section 3635, Valley Central will provide transportation for pupils enrolled in kindergarten through grades 8 who live more than two miles from the school they attend and pupils enrolled in grades 9-12 who live more than three miles from the school they attend up to a distance of fifteen miles. Stop locations will be consistent with those of the Public Schools.
You must fill out a separate form for each child.
Please note that if you do not utilize the bus for 5 consecutive days or more, it will be assumed that you no longer need busing and your stop will be removed from the route unless you notify the Transportation Department at 845-457-2400 x18115 in advance.
Residency Verification Form
In order to provide private school students access to public school materials and services, and to ensure compliance with state regulations and mandates, the district is required to receive an annual verification of residency from each “no busing” student.
If your student does not have a District ID number, please contact our Registrar at 845-457-2400 x18130. A District ID number is required in order to participate in any of these programs. Please fill out the below Residency Verification Form to verify residency for the 2022-2023 school year.
Residency Verification Form for the 2024-2025 School Year
WHAT NEW YORK STATE LAW SAYS ABOUT BUS STOPS
School Law Ch. 57, 57:28
57:28. May a school board designate pick-up points for school buses?
Yes. School districts are not required to provide transportation to students directly to and from home (§ 3635(1)(d); Ossant v. Millard, 72 Misc.2d 384 (Fam. Ct. Yates Cnty. 1972); Appeal of E.F., 57 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 17,186 (2017); see Appeal of Petrella, 48 Ed Dept Rep 45 (2008); see 57:19). They may require students to walk to transportation pick-up points (Appeal of E.F.; Appeal of Cook, 51 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 16,367 (2012); Appeal of Fliss, 51 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 16,280 (2011); Appeal of Girsdansky, 46 Ed Dept Rep 105 (2006)). A school board is authorized to exercise discretion with reasonable care in designating pick-up points after considering and balancing issues of student safety, convenience, routing efficiency, and cost (Appeal of E.F.; Appeal of Kyle, 53 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 16,626 (2014); Appeal of Cook; Appeal of K.G., 51 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 16,269 (2011)).
To afford the greatest possible protection to school children, the school board or superintendent may designate drive-off places on public highways for school buses to drive off the highway to receive or discharge students. The state or municipality having jurisdiction over a highway so designated is authorized to provide construction and maintenance of drive-offs (§ 3635(5)). However, the fact that a pick-up point is located on a heavily traveled road or may require students to wait or travel on unlit narrow roadways with no sidewalks or walkways, or that the student’s home is in a remote location, is insufficient to prove that the pick-up point is unsafe (Appeal of K.G.; Appeal of Weinschenk, 47 Ed Dept Rep 518 (2008); Appeal of Price, 38 Ed Dept Rep 745 (1999); Appeal of DiNapoli, 38 Ed Dept Rep 269 (1998)).
It is the responsibility of the parent, not the school district, to see that his or her child reaches the pick-up point safely (Pratt v. Robinson, 39 N.Y.2d 554 (1976); Appeal of E.F.; Appeal of Kyle; Appeal of K.G.; Appeal of Brizell, 48 Ed Dept Rep 128 (2008)). However, a district may not require parents to transport their child to a pick-up point, which is farther away than the distance limitations for pick-up points set by the district policy (Appeal of Zwickel, 42 Ed Dept Rep 346 (2003)).
POST SESSION TRANSPORTATION
Post Session buses are provided by the District for High School and Middle School Students.
- High School: Monday – Thursday
- Middle School: Tuesday – Thursday
A bus pass is required in order for a student to board a post session route.
HIGH SCHOOL
High School students staying post session will utilize the corresponding Middle School route. For instance, if the student’s assigned bus is High School Route 10, their Middle School bus will be Middle School Route 10. Students that ride HS ROUTE 31- HS ROUTE 34 have different Middle School bus numbers and should contact the High School front office for their post session bus information. High School Students must acquire a pass and board the Middle School buses by 2:55 PM as buses will not be held in wait.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Middle School post session routes leave the Middle School at approximately 4:15 PM These buses make area stops. Students may be dropped off further from home than their regular routes.
The district runs three (3) Middle School Post Session buses as follows:
- Newburgh/ Maybrook
- Montgomery
- Walden
Middle School Post-Session Routes
Use the following Chart to determine which of the three buses a middle school student would take for post-session.
(For example, if a student rides ROUTE 01 to school, they would take WALDEN for post-session)
ROUTE 01-take WALDEN
ROUTE 02-take NEWBURGH/MAYBROOK
ROUTE 03-take NEWBURGH/MAYBROOK
ROUTE 04-take NEWBURGH/MAYBROOK
ROUTE 05-See School Staff
ROUTE 06-See School Staff
ROUTE 07-See School Staff
ROUTE 08-take WALDEN
ROUTE 09-take WALDEN
ROUTE 10-take WALDEN
ROUTE 11-take WALDEN
ROUTE 12-take WALDEN
ROUTE 13-take WALDEN
ROUTE 14-See School Staff
ROUTE 15-take NEWBURGH/MAYBROOK
ROUTE 16-take NEWBURGH/MAYBROOK
ROUTE 17-See School Staff
ROUTE 18-See School Staff
ROUTE 19-take NEWBURGH/MAYBROOK
ROUTE 20-take MONTGOMERY
ROUTE 21-take MONTGOMERY
ROUTE 22-take MONTGOMERY
ROUTE 23-take MONTGOMERY
ROUTE 24-take MONTGOMERY
ROUTE 25-See School Staff
ROUTE 26-take WALDEN
ROUTE 27-take MONTGOMERY
ROUTE 28-take MONTGOMERY
ROUTE 29-take MONTGOMERY
ROUTE 30-take MONTGOMERY
ATHLETIC BUSES
Athletic Buses are scheduled to leave the High School at 5:30 PM. Students must be actively involved with a scheduled sport in order to utilize these buses. There are two Athletic buses to cover the district, therefore, buses most likely will drop students further out from their original stop. As with Middle School Post Session buses, timing is contingent on who boards the buses on a given day.
Athletic buses are intended as a matter of convenience for families. The district’s intention is to provide a stop closer to the student’s home than would be if pick-up had to be made at the school itself. However, it is the family’s responsibility to get the student from the stop to the home. In addition, there may be a need to cross students in areas that other buses may not cross.