General Information

For the safety of our school children, New York State law requires all vehicles to stop for a stopped school bus when the large red lights on top of the bus are flashing.

Flashing red lights mean that the bus is picking up or discharging students. Drivers are always required to stop for flashing red lights, even on divided highways and on school grounds, and must stop whether they are approaching a school bus from the front or the rear.

Students must ride to and from school on the same bus route, and board and leave from the same bus stop each day.

Elementary schools use an app called School Dismissal Manager for a student to get off at a different stop. Middle school parents must request, in writing to the school office, that their child be allowed to ride a different bus route or get on and off at a different bus stop.

Upon receipt of the parent’s note, the school will issue a bus pass, which is to be handed to the bus driver. Bus passes are not needed in high school.

Students should arrive at their bus stop five minutes before the bus arrival time. After the first few days of school, pick up times for each stop should be well established. P

lease keep in mind that adverse weather conditions, traffic problems, or occasional mechanical problems can delay the buses. If the bus is unduly late (more than ten minutes), please feel free to call Chappaqua Transportation at 238-4404

Careful consideration is given to the location of bus stops. A post card indicating your child’s bus stop location and pick up time is mailed by the School District in August.

Parents are urged to ensure adequate supervision of bus stops, particularly at the elementary school level.

In particular, the School District strongly encourages elementary school parents whose children share a bus stop to coordinate with each other to ensure that at least one adult caregiver is present when students are picked up and dropped off.

If you must leave your child unattended for the morning pick up, please make sure that your child has an “emergency plan” in the event that he or she should miss the bus. Parents K-4 cannot leave a bus stop until the student is admitted onto the bus.

NEVER chase the bus and make your child(ren) walk through the danger zone to get to the service door of the bus. If you miss your bus, call Chappaqua Transportation and you will be told where to go meet the bus. Your driver needs to be aware of the situation.

Please be aware: For your child’s safety, the bus driver must have eye contact with a parent or adult caregiver before dropping off a kindergartner.

No insects or animals are permitted on the bus. Musical instruments are allowed, providing they can be contained on a lap or under the seat.

All other items must be small enough to be secured inside a backpack.

Review with your child what procedures to follow in case of emergency/early dismissal. These include where to look for the house key and/or whose house to go to if parents are not home.

Label all lunch boxes, books, sweaters, rain gear, hats, etc. The bus company keeps a lost and found box for items that are not labeled. However, drivers follow through on all labeled items, even to the extent of delivering “lost lunches” to the schools on the morning that they are lost.

There may be a few days when schools will be closed due to heavy snow or other unusual hazards brought on by weather conditions. If weather conditions impact bus routes, please see the Main Roads Schedules.

Chappaqua Transportation will furnish transportation to all Private and Parochial schools. Students will receive notification of the bus pick up time before the start of school. Most Private and Parochial students will be shuttled into Bell School on the Bell School buses where they will then transfer out. There are no late activity buses for students attending out of district schools.

If Chappaqua Schools are closed, or are operating on a delay due to inclement weather, no bus service will be provided for Private or Parochial Schools outside the Chappaqua School District.

Requests for transportation to non-public schools must be made each year. Parents should submit written requests to the Transportation Office, Chappaqua Central School District, P.O. Box 21, Chappaqua, NY 10514, no later than April 1 of the current year to request transportation for the coming year. Download the forms below. 

Parentally Placed Out-of-District Transportation Request Form

If a student is on crutches or has an injury or condition that makes it difficult to ride the regular bus, special transportation can be arranged provided:

A written request is submitted to the bus company by the attending physician stating the nature of the injury and approximate length of time special transportation will be required.
The bus company is given the student’s name, grade, school, address, telephone number and date service should start. Parents will then be notified about pickup time and location for student.