TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE NOTE
No. T-07-01
School Business Services
Contact:
Herman Carter
School Transportation Management Section
Department Of Education
Improving Hazardous Walking Reporting and
(850) 245-9795
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John L. Winn, Commissioner
Compliance
SC
205-9795
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DATE:
September 8, 2006
TO:
School District Transportation Directors
School District Finance Officers
FROM:
Charlie Hood, Director
School
Transportation
Management
SUBJECT:
Improving Hazardous Walking Reporting and Compliance
Ensuring access to educational programs requires that school districts safely transport students to
and from school each day. Some Florida public school students who are not required to be
transported in school buses (i.e., those whose home addresses are less than two miles from their
assigned schools) are eligible for such transportation when they would otherwise be subject to
the hazardous walking conditions prescribed in Section 1006.23, Florida Statutes (F.S.). It is
important to note that school districts and charter schools may at their local discretion transport
any students they choose, regardless of whether they are required to transport the students and
regardless of whether the students are eligible for funding under state law.
The automated system established by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) for school
districts to report hazardous walking locations was revised on June 16, 2006, to improve ease of
use. The system is used to report hazardous walking locations meeting the criteria specified in
Section 1006.23, F.S. Since the October 2002 Student Transportation Survey, districts claiming
funding for transportation of students at risk for hazardous walking conditions have been
required to use the automated system for reporting hazardous walking locations and conditions.
Under the provisions of Section 1011.68, F.S., school districts may include these students in
their claims for state student transportation funding. The two basic determinants of eligibility
are:
1. The grade level and type of school. Only students who attend elementary school and
do not exceed grade six are eligible. Sixth grade or higher students who attend middle
school are not eligible under state law;
2. The conditions of the walking route between home and the assigned school.
A
walking route is only considered “hazardous” for the purpose of determining eligibility
for transportation and state funding if one or more locations along the walking route
meets specified statutory criteria. These criteria include traffic counts, speed limits, the
Technical Assistance Note T-07-01
September 8, 2006
Page Two
presence of traffic control devices, and the nature of the walking surface and its distance
from the road.
Attached to this memorandum is a checklist that districts and
governmental road jurisdictions can use when inspecting locations to determine if they
meet the statutory criteria.
Section 1006.23, F.S., specifies the process for determining and documenting that an area is
hazardous, as follows: “When a request for review is made to the district school superintendent
or the district school superintendent's designee concerning a condition perceived to be hazardous
to students in that district who live within the 2-mile limit and who walk to school, such
condition shall be inspected by a representative of the school district and a representative of the
state or local governmental entity that has jurisdiction over the perceived hazardous location.
The district school superintendent or his or her designee and the state or local governmental
entity or its representative shall then make a final determination that is mutually agreed upon
regarding whether the hazardous condition meets the state criteria pursuant to this section. The
district school superintendent or his or her designee shall report this final determination to the
department.”
Section 1006.23, F.S., states, “It is further intended that state or local governmental entities
having jurisdiction correct such hazardous conditions within a reasonable period of time.” The
statute further states, “State funds shall be allocated for the transportation of students subjected
to such hazards, provided that such funding shall cease upon correction of the hazard or upon the
projected completion date, whichever occurs first.”
As always, school districts must review and update the hazardous walking reports in the web-
based system on a per-survey basis; i.e., no later than the end of each survey week. The October
2006 Transportation Survey (Survey 2) is scheduled for October 9-13, 2006. Any updates to the
report that will apply to the hazardous walking locations for students to be reported in Survey 2
must be completed by close of business Friday, October 13, 2006.
Several user improvements to the automated hazardous walking system were made and
implemented on June 16, 2006:
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The manual verification form has been deleted from the system and replaced with a
button that reads “SUBMIT TO DOE.” When the user clicks the “SUBMIT TO DOE”
button, a dialog box opens that reads: “By submitting your Hazardous Walking Locations
report, you are officially verifying and attesting that all information is current and
accurate for the upcoming or current Transportation Survey period and that all required
backup documentation is available and will be maintained on file. Do you agree?”
When the district responds affirmatively to this question, it has satisfied the reporting
requirements for hazardous walking locations.
Technical Assistance Note T-07-01
September 8, 2006
Page Three
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When entering a new record, the screen provides the following options: Save Record &
Return; Save Record & Exit System; Exit System Without Saving; and Return to List of
Records.
In addition to the web-based system improvements, FDOE is also working to improve
compliance with Section 1006.23, F.S., by those districts that claim students for transportation
funding under the Hazardous Walking membership category. Before districts submit their
hazardous walking locations reports for Survey 2 (October), they must review and re-enter or
update any hazardous walking location that meets either of the criteria below:
a. “Date Determined Hazardous” field is more than five years prior to the upcoming or
current survey date; or
b. “Projected Completion Date” field is prior to the beginning of the upcoming or current
survey reporting period (starting six days prior to the survey) or is shown as NA (i.e., the
district must renew and document its request to the local jurisdiction for a projected
completion date to correct the hazard).
Although you can begin these updates at any time, we will send each district a report of the
number of locations in the system that don’t meet these criteria prior to the October 2006
Transportation Survey (Survey 2). Immediately following each survey (starting with Survey 2),
we will run a report to ensure these records have been reviewed and updated.
To review and update your district’s hazardous walking locations database, please access the
following web address: http://info.doe.state.fl.us/walking/default.cfm.
These improvements are designed to assist districts in their reporting and to ensure the accuracy
of funding distribution to all districts, including those that do not claim students for hazardous
walking category funding. If you have questions or concerns regarding this system, please e-
mail Herman.Carter@fldoe.org or call (850) 245-9795.
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Superintendents
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Charter
Schools
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Attachment:
Checklist for Site Review
