Frequently Asked Questions

    The best way to find out if your child's bus is cancelled or delayed is to download the Bus Status App and set up push notifications. 

    Here are the other ways we inform parents and students of bus cancellations:

    • Bus drivers whose routes have been cancelled will attempt to contact parents/students.
    • NLPS will post cancellations on our website: BUS STATUS
    • NLPS may send out an automated call out through School Messenger to notify parents with a phone call, email or text. Parents may also receive a push notification through the School Messenger app.
    • Cancellations may be shared on our Facebook page, on our school Facebook page, or in our Northern Lights Public Schools Bus Updates group.

    Since many parents decide to transport students to school themselves on days when buses or classes are cancelled, we cannot assume that they will be absent due to bus or class cancellations.

    Our goal is to make sure that every student that plans to come to school that day arrives safely. If you report your child absent, we know not to expect them. If you do not report your child's absence, we do not know if they are safe at home or if something happened on the way to school that prevented them from arriving safely.

    If your child is not reported absent, you will receive an automated call, and possibly an email or text, asking you to confirm your child's absence. If we do not receive a response, we may attempt contacting you using the additional contact information you have provided to your child's school. 

    If you need to report your child absent, due to a bus cancellation, or for any other reason, there are four ways you can report that absence:

    Please note that unless otherwise indicated by your child's school, we do not monitor social media or email for absence notifications. If you report your child's absence using those methods, we may not receive it and you may still receive an automated message asking you to confirm your child's absence.

    Bus Drivers can be fined by Alberta Transportation for having "loose" objects on a bus. A guideline has been developed and sent to all schools and bus contractors outlining what objects or instruments can be taken on a bus. Even when these allowed items are on the bus they must be secured in a backpack or under the seat.

    No. Busing is only for registered students on that route.

    You can send us an email (click the "Contact Us" link) or you can call us.

    You can also fill out a new Transportation Application form through School Engage in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. You can find instructions HERE.

     

    First, talk to your bus driver on the next school day. If they haven't seen it, check the school's "Lost & Found.

    Unfortunately not. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Regulation AR121/2009 S.19 outlines who can be on a school bus when delivering students to and from school. Preschoolers are not students that are under an assigned program funded by Alberta Education.