Calgary Board of Education (CBE) students are starting a new school year on Thursday, which means parents are busy getting their kids ready.

Here are some things to keep in mind so your kid has a stress free start to the 2024-2025 academic year.

Know your bus routes

Transportation on big yellow school buses are available to students who attend their designated school, live beyond the school walk zone and are assigned to general transportation as their mode.

Parents who have registered their kids to take the bus to school are encouraged to check the MyCBE website for bus stop information in advance. This includes directions to and from the bus stop, as well as stop times (when the bus leaves the stop).

Bus stop information includes which direction the bus will be travelling (northbound, eastbound, southbound or westbound), the street the bus stop will be located on, the quadrant of the city the bus stop is located and the cross street the bus stop will be located before or after. A landmark will also be provided to visibly identify the bus stop.

Kids are asked to be at the stop at least five minutes before the scheduled departure time, and buses will not wait at or return to stops after they have left. Parents of kindergarten students are asked to accompany their child for safety reasons.

Parents who have not registered their kids for bus service can still do so on an ongoing basis. Since the deadline (June 16) has passed, students are added to the closest existing stop with available space. The CBE says registration forms may take up to six weeks to process at the beginning of the school year because of volume.

Bus-eligible Grade 1 to 9 students are charged $260 a school year. Students in kindergarten get one-way transportation for $130 a school year.

Conditional ridership is also available to students who aren’t eligible for general transportation, but it isn’t guaranteed. Conditional ridership costs $260 a school year for Grade 1 to 9 students, and $130 a school year for kindergarten students (one-way transportation only).

Due to a driver shortage, all high school students and some Grade 6 to 9 students are asked to take Calgary Transit. More information about communities and schools designated to use Calgary Transit can be found on the CBE’s website. Those asked to use Calgary Transit can access fare and pass information here.

Specialized transportation

Small yellow school buses are available to students who attend specialized programs at their designated school and are assigned to specialized transportation. Students with mobility challenges may also be eligible for specialized transportation.

The CBE notes, however, that many Grade 7 to 12 students who are in specialized programs have been assigned transportation with Calgary Transit.

The CBE says service levels vary based on the program the student attends, their grade level, the student’s individual abilities and available modes of transportation. Service levels include:

• Curb-to-curb specialized transportation: a bus stop is located as close to the home as possible
• Corner stop specialized transportation: a bus stop is located within one kilometre of the home address
• General transportation: a bus stop is located within 1.6 kilometres for elementary schools and 1.8 kilometres for middle and junior high schools.
• Calgary Transit: a trip plan that is around an hour and no more than one bus transfer.

Parents must register for specialized transportation using MyCBE every school year. The registration deadline for the 2024-2025 school year was June 16, but registrations are still accepted after the deadline. The CBE says students registered after the deadline will be added to the closest existing stop with space, within the distance guideline. Paper forms are also available.

Parents are also able to request a second address as part of their registration, which gives them access to two bus stops or routes to support childcare arrangements and changing family schedules.

Sibling conditional ridership may be available for students who aren’t assigned specialized transportation but has a sibling who utilizes special transportation. The siblings must attend the same school. Sibling conditional ridership is not guaranteed, however, and parents must have alternative transportation arrangements in place in case their kid is not approved before the start of the school year.

Sibling conditional ridership costs $260 a school year for Grade 1 to 9 students, and $130 a school year for kindergarten students (one-way transportation only).

Students who are assigned specialized transportation on the small yellow school bus are not required to pay a fee. Those asked to use Calgary Transit can access fare information here.

Parents are asked to confirm their child’s service level by emailing transportation@cbe.ab.ca.

Bell schedules

Bell schedules and office hours vary by school and information can be found on individual school websites.

Safety tips for parents and children

The Calgary Police Service shared some safety tips ahead of the school year for parents and children.

Parents need to make sure their child knows their full name, age, address, area code, home phone number and parents’ work or cellphone numbers. Their child should also know how to contact emergency services, and they should know the route to and from school.

It is also important for children to know what to do when they are being followed, CPS said. If a child is being followed, they should turn and run in the opposite direction, get a description and license plate number from the vehicle, run to the closest safe place and stay in open areas where they can be seen.

CPS officers are also reminding parents and students who drive to school that playground zone speed limits are 30 km/h from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week year-round.

Low-income resources

Low-income families are able to sign their children up for various resources across the city.

For food support, the Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids initiative provides school lunches for kids who need them. Parents can sign their kids up using an online form. The organization will contact the family within three to five business days to see if they can access the resource.

The City of Calgary also has a map of community food resources for low-income families on their website.

Children aged 12 and under are able to ride for free on Calgary Transit. Families can buy a low-income monthly transit passes if they are approved to be part of the City of Calgary’s Fair Entry program.

Families can also access free services at the Calgary Public Library including free printing, access to free wi-fi and borrowing a laptop. More information can be found on the CPL website.