• Disobeying the bus monitor or driver
• Standing or walking while the bus is in motion
• Loud talking, swearing or rudeness
• Initiated or provoked fighting, play-fighting, horse-playing, wrestling and other contact games, such as Truth or Dare with other passengers, bus monitors or drivers.
• Any form of sexual misconduct, such as but not limited to, unwarranted touching, suggestive language, sexual acts, or possession of any sexual object that is used to convey any sexual message.
• Teasing and/or hazing of any student.
• Consumption of food and beverages
• Playing any electronic device too loud that it disturbs others.
• Throwing of any object out the window
• TAking or destroying someone else's property including the bus company
• The possession, sale, distribution or use of illegal drugs, alcohol, weapons, or their facsimile.
• Possession of toy guns, water guns or knives. Toys may be treated as genuine weapons. See Student Rights and Responsibility Handbook of Newton Public Schools.
• Smoking, Vaping or lightin a fire or using hazardous materials.
• Using the emergency exits for reasons other than an emergency.
• No animals are allowed on the bus
• Any behaviour which compromises the safety or well-being of students, bus monitors or drivers.
• Any interference with bus drivers or monitors by parent or student will result in los of bus privileges, dismissal from Newton METCO Program and/or leagal action.

All potential violation are subject to the terms of the Student Rights and REsponsibilities Handbook of the Newton Public Schools.

As a parent, it is your responsibility to stress the importance of positive behavior on teh bus and at thebus stop.  The bus monitors role is to ensure safety, enforce appropriate bus behavior, report violations to school principals and recommend appropriate disciplinary action.  On buses without bus monitors, the bus drivers will report any violations to Newton staff.

The routes were developed based on centralized bus stops for all students, as well as to ensure safety, efficiency and cost effectiveness.  Students may only ride on their assigned buses with a bus pass.  Bus changes are the responsibility of the Newton Transportation and METCO Directors.  Bus monitors and drivers are prohibited from making any bus route changes without explicit permission.  Parents should notify the Newton Transportation Director if they observer changes in the route without advanced notice from NPS.

The Newton METCO Program does not provide transportation to areas such as Allston, Brighton, West Roxbury, Downtown Boston, East/South Boston, Charlestown, Parts of Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and Uphams Corner.  Families residing in those areas of Boston must provide transportation to and from Newton or go to an existing stop on the route.

Once the Bus routes are established, additional bus stops will not be added.  If you move within the City of Boston during the school year, your child may use any existing bus stop on the route.

It is the parent's responsibility to accompany their children to the bus stop.  The pick-up and drop off times are estimates and may vary due to traffic patterns, unexpected emergencies and weather conditions.  You and your child must arrive and be standing at the bus stop (not sitting in a parked car) 10 minutes before the scheduled time and be prepared to wait 10 to 15 minute beyond the scheduuled time for both morning and afternoon bus routes.  If students, parents or others designated to pick up your child are sitting in a vehicle, the bus monitor or bus driver may not see or recognize these vehicles and are not obligated to wait at the bus stop.

Bus drivers will only board students at designated stops on teh bus route. Children may not board or disembark from the bus at stoplights or other illegal stops on the route because of safety regulations.  Massachusetts state Law requires that once a driver has loaded students adn close the door, the driver CANNOT re-open the door, even if they have not pulled away from the curb.  Re-opening the door presents a safety hazard and constitutes a legal traffic violation.

The Newton METCO Program and METCO Inc are not after-school programs.  If your child does not have permission to leave the bus stop unsupervised and is not met by the end of the bus route by a parent/guardian, the bus will drop off the student at METCO Inc, 11 Roxbury Street, Roxbury MA  02119.  If a student is taken to METCO Inc more than three times; future bus service for your child may be suspended.

Newton Transportation issues student bus passes for all Boston students riding a Boston bound bus.  Bus registration is managed through MySchoolBucks and your pass will be accessible in Aspen.

Information about registration and Instructions for registration can be found on the NPS website HERE

The Newton Public Schools and Eastern Bus Company cannot take responsibility for transporting children who are ill or have been injured.  Therefore, parents are expected to come to the school to pick up their children.  Riding on teh bus may cause t he condition to worsen, or in the case of potentially contagious conditions, may threaten the health of other students.