Charter School Transportation Policy
Any school district boundary within ten miles of Charter Arts’ front door obligates a sending district to transport all district students to Charter Arts. School Districts that bus to Charter Arts are: Allentown, Bethlehem (not within two miles of Charter Arts with some exceptions), Easton, East Penn, Catasauqua, Nazareth, Northampton, Palisades, Parkland, Quakertown Area School District, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Southern Lehigh, Whitehall and Wilson Borough (Northampton Co.).
Families who reside outside of one of our busing districts must provide transportation to and from Charter Arts each day. Carpooling is facilitated for students attending from outlying areas. Current carpools include: Bucks/Montgomery, *Pocono, Berks County, Slate Belt (Bangor/Pen Argyl) and Slatington (Northern Lehigh).
*There is also a bus available for Pocono students, that is paid for by parents.
For more information, please contact the Transportation Director at 610-868-2971 ext. 3138.
Bus Transportation Request Forms for the 2018-2019 School Year
For students who are eligible for busing because their district is within the busing radius allowed by law, you will find a transportation form (Act 372 form) below. You must print the form, fill it out, and return to Charter Arts. Every student who is in need of busing arrangements for the 2018-2019 school year must return this form no later than May 31, 2018. Mail the form to Charter Arts Transportation Office, 321 East 3rd Street, Bethlehem PA 18015.
Palmieri bus contracts will be mailed out once finalized (this is Pocono region- Monroe, Pen Argyl).
Quakertown (Levy Bus) – All students riding the Quakertown bus must register with Levy bus transportation by June 16, 2018 if they want transportation in the fall. Please go to www.levybus.com click on “2018-19 InfoSnap – Private and Charter Students” to register.
All other schools, see below for your district’s form:
Second Nazareth Form for Not in Session Transportation- Please view both
For students who live outside the busing radius, who want to arrange a carpool, please fill out this NEW carpool form (updated June 2018).
Weather Related School Delays/Closings
Charter Arts relies on the sending school districts within a ten mile radius of Charter Arts for the transportation needs of many of our students. These sending districts cannot always accommodate Charter Arts’ schedule during weather related circumstances. It is important for students who rely on busing from their home district to pay close attention to that district’s weather delay or closing. All students should check WFMZ.com for Charter Arts’ weather delay or closing. It is important to check several times as Charter Arts’ closing status can change from a two-hour delay to closed if bad weather continues.
When a home school district closes early because of weather, they will contact Charter Arts. Charter Arts will make sure students get on the bus at the appropriate time. If Charter Arts closes before a sending school district, the sending district will be contacted to pick up their students early for transportation home.
If your sending school district has a delay and Charter Arts does not:
Because Charter Arts students travel into Bethlehem from a nine-county region, weather delays and school closings are not always consistent. If your school district has a delay and we do not, please follow your district’s delay.
If Charter Arts has a delay and your sending school district does not:Below is a list of our sending school districts and their policy if they are on regular time and we have a delay.
| School | Policy |
|---|---|
| Allentown | Picks up at regular time not delayed time** |
| Bethlehem | Picks up at regular time not delayed time |
| Catasauqua | Follows our delayed time** |
| Easton | Picks up at regular time not delayed time |
| East Penn | Follows our delayed time |
| Nazareth | Follows our delayed time** |
| Northampton | Follows our delayed time |
| Palisades | Follows our delayed time** |
| Parkland | Follows our delayed time |
| Salisbury | Follows our delayed time, unless otherwise notified** |
| Saucon Valley | Picks up at regular time not delayed time |
| Southern Lehigh | Picks up at regular time not delayed time |
| Whitehall | Follows our delayed time |
| Wilson | Picks up at regular time not delayed time** |
Palmieri Bus out of the Pocono area will followed our delayed time, unless otherwise notified.
(**) for those districts marked with asterisk above, the policy listed is different than last year’s policy.
Charter Arts will have someone here at the school to allow the students to enter the school when the bus drops them off.