It is the policy of the Seattle School Board that, as applicable to pupil transportation, vandalism is the willful or reckless destruction of, damage to, or defacing of the transportation facilities provided for a student.  

1. Students caught in the act of, or identified as the perpetrators of, vandalism to all District transportation facilities, including those associated with District provided public transportation, (vehicles, bus stops, etc.) may incur personal liability for the cost of their destructiveness.  

2. The school district is not obligated to provide further transportation to any student who has been positively identified as perpetrating or engaging in vandalism.  

If a student is identified as having committed an act of vandalism, the driver or bus supervisor will complete a Bus Incident/Vandalism Report on the student, turn the original in to the bus dispatcher, and hand the principal or his or her designee the remaining copies. Principals or their designated representative must investigate reports on vandalism and take appropriate action.  

Subsequent to the bus incident report, the carrier (contracted bus organization) or the district will directly bill the student’s parents/guardians for the cost of the incurred damages. In the case of a private contracted carrier, there is no redress for this billing through the school district, and failure to pay may result in a legal suit against the parents/guardian by the carrier. 

 
As a disciplinary measure, the principal receiving the Bus Incident/Vandalism Report may warn, suspend, or revoke the student’s transportation entitlements as an action exclusive of the billing by the carrier or the school.  

Unidentified Individual or Group Vandalism – If a bus is damaged and no one is identified, the principal or his or her designee will inform the students riding the bus as a group of the nature and cost of damage and the individual student responsibility in identifying the person or persons causing the damage. If damage continues, principals may suspend bus service pending the results of investigation to determine responsibility.