Prior to using transportation, please review all transportation rules and regulations. The Transportation Safety and Conduct Rules should be reviewed with students throughout the school year.

If your child will need transportation to an alternate location such as a child care provider or if you will be providing transportation for your child, you will need to complete and submit a Transportation Change Request Form annually. If the change is due to a change of address, you will also need to submit a Change of Address Packet which can be found under demographic forms on our Registration & Residency page.

In order for requests to be granted for the beginning of the new school year, please submit forms by July 1st. Requests submitted at a later date may face delays in processing up until two weeks after the start of the new school year. Requests made during the school year make take up to two weeks to process. As noted above, requests for alternate transportation must be submitted annually. Please print and email the Transportation Change Request Form to transportation@berlinschools.org, fax it to 860-829-0832, or drop off/mail the form to the Berlin Board of Education, 238 Kensington Road, Berlin, CT 06037. You will be contacted once a decision is made regarding your request.

Requests for alternate stops for child care will only be granted if they fall within the daily bus routes of the student's school district; new stops will not be created. Requests must be permanent in nature. Please keep in mind that A.M. stops must be from one location only and P.M. stops must be to one location only. Split stops will not be considered (for example, three days to child care and two days to home).

Please see the Transportation Concerns and Complaints section if you would like to request a change due to a safety issue.

If your child is an elementary school student who lives in a walker area and you would like your child to use one of the courtesy stops, you will need to complete a Courtesy Stop Request Form annually. Courtesy stop locations are listed on the Courtesy Stop Request Form. Please note that stop locations in walker areas are provided as a courtesy to families and there will be no changes made to the predetermined courtesy stop locations.

Late buses will be provided Monday through Thursday for Berlin High School students who are remaining after school. For McGee Middle School, transportation will be provided on the second and fourth Monday of the month and every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for students who are remaining after school. Late buses will leave Berlin High School promptly at 2:55 p.m. and McGee Middle School at 3:10 p.m. Students are to obtain bus passes from the teacher with whom the student is staying after school. Students who miss the late bus will be responsible for securing their own transportation.

PLEASE NOTE: Late buses do not follow the normal bus routes. A limited number of centralized stops are made throughout the district.

Tips for using the Late Buses

• Students should check the Late Bus maps located at their school or below to determine which late bus to use. If unsure of which bus to use, students should ask the office personnel at their school for assistance. Students should not get on a bus without first determining the correct bus.
• Each student must have a Late Bus Pass with address information and name filled out completely.
• Late bus passes should be given to the driver when entering the bus.
• If you are on the WRONG LATE BUS, tell your driver and stay on the bus until you get to the next school. Your bus driver will call for a van to take you home.
• Do not get off the bus if you are nowhere near your home. Stay on the bus until it gets to the next school and your bus driver will call a van to take you home.
• Pay attention to where the bus is traveling and tell the driver when you get close to the area where you can be dropped off.

Please refer to the School Closings section of our website for information regarding inclement weather. Please do not contact New Britain Transportation with questions regarding delayed openings/closings and cancellations.

Questions or concerns regarding your child's special education transportation should be directed to Pupil Personnel Services at 860-828-6581.

MAGNET and OUT-OF-DISTRICT PRIVATE SCHOOLS
For questions or concerns regarding magnet school or out-of-district private school transportation, please contact your child's school for more information. We do not handle transportation for these schools.

TECHNICAL, VOAG, and IN-DISTRICT PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Students attending out-of-town technical/vo-ag schools, Mooreland Hill and St. Paul School in Kensington are required to be registered with Berlin Public Schools in order to receive transportation. Please visit our Registration & Residency page for more information.

On days when Berlin schools are cancelled due to inclement weather or other emergencies, no transportation will be provided to other schools that normally receive transportation through Berlin Public Schools (e.g., technical schools, Mooreland School, St. Paul School, etc.). If Berlin Public Schools are delayed or have an early dismissal due to inclement weather or other emergencies, transportation will also be delayed or have an early dismissal. For example, if Berlin Schools are on a 90 minute delay, Mooreland pick up times will be delayed by 90 minutes. Otherwise, transportation will be provided on those days when Berlin Schools are scheduled to not be in session but the non-public schools are in session.

For questions or concerns regarding Open Choice transportation, please contact RSCO Transportation at 860-524-4010.

Student Behavior - Complaints regarding inappropriate student behavior while riding the bus/van should be reported to the school principal.

Stop Location and/or Driver - For concerns regarding a driver and/or stop location, please complete a Transportation Concern Form and return it to Business Operations at the Berlin Board of Education office for review. You will receive a written response or telephone call regarding your request within 30 days. Please be patient while we investigate each of the requests that we receive. Additional forms or phone calls will only delay the process.

If you feel that your stop location is in violation of the Berlin Board of Education Transportation Policy, you must cite which area of the policy is being violated by the stop location. The Berlin Board of Education Transportation Policy can be found on this page under Transportation Rules and Regulations