Resources for School Districts / LEA Representatives
For Local Education Agency (LEA) leaders and District Transportation Committees, the Safe Routes Utah program is a critical framework that bridges the gap between student safety and efficient district operations. Your role serves as the essential quality-control layer in a statewide effort to minimize traffic incidents and optimize school transit. Beyond mere compliance, the district-level review process is an opportunity to synchronize individual school plans with broader municipal infrastructure projects and district-wide safety standards. By vetting, refining, and approving these plans, you provide the administrative “green light” that allows schools to access state resources and ensures that every designated walking route across your district meets a unified benchmark of security and accessibility.
Requirements Under Utah State Code
State code provides detail on Safe Routes Utah programming requirements as they apply to local school boards (41.6a.303).
- Every local school board is required to establish a Traffic Safety Committee for their district.
- The school administrator is responsible for preparing and submitting the Safe Routes Utah plans to the District School Traffic Safety Committee (in accordance with UCA 53A-3-402).
- The District Traffic Safety Committee shall review and submit a Safe Routes Utah plan annually to the UDOT Behavioral Safety Program Manager and affected municipalities and counties for each elementary, middle, and junior high school within the district (7A.02.11).
- School districts shall notify the UDOT Chief Railroad Engineer in writing by July 1 prior to the integration of the Safe Routes Utah plan of the locations where School Routes cross rail lines. Re-notification shall not be required if the route on a Safe Routes Utah plan crossing the rail line has not changed since the original notification (7A.02.14).
Safe Routes Utah Responsibilities
| Requirement | Responsible Party |
|---|---|
| Create a Traffic Safety Committee | Local School Board |
| Establish a Community Council | Local schools with assistance from the local school board |
| Identify recommendations and create the Safe Routes Utah plan | School Community Council/School Administrator |
| Submit the finalized plan to the District Traffic Safety Committee, affected municipality, and county. | School Administrator |
| Submit approved plan to the UDOT Behavioral Safety Program Manager | District Traffic Safety Committee |
| Present and distribute the school traffic safety program (Safe Routes plan) annually to students and parents | Individual Schools/School Administrator |
| Provide training for all students grades K-6 on school crossing safety | District Traffic Safety Committee *Can appoint sub-committees to assist |
| Ensure compliance for reduced speed school zones | District Traffic Safety Committee (working with the local transportation agency) |
Additionally, the District/LEA Safety Committee has a responsibility to:
- Recommend school traffic safety improvements and school traffic safety measures. This is accomplished by reviewing and approving individual Safe Routes Utah school plans.
- Review and submit annually to the DOT, cities, and counties, a child access routing plan for each elementary, middle, and junior high school in their district. It is your responsibility to confirm that each school has shared their plan with their local municipality, and submitted their map and plan through the UDOT mapping portal.
- Provide training to all K-6 students on school crossing safety. UDOT can assist schools by providing this training through the Beat the Street assemblies. The assembly is available for grades K-6 and is provided free of charge.
- Ensure compliance for all reduced speed school zones. It is the legal responsibility of the School District/LEA to work with local law enforcement agencies to provide crossing guards and enforcement for reduced speed zones near schools. Safe Routes Utah provides additional resources and training for crossing guards.
Additional details can be found in Utah Code Section 41.6a.303.
Creating your Safe Routes Utah Plan
As a school principal, your Safe Routes Plan is more than a regulatory requirement, it is a foundational component of your school’s daily operations and student safety strategy. A well-executed plan does more than just map out a path, it actively reduces the chaotic congestion of the morning “drop-off” loop, minimizes the risk of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, and ensures that your students arrive at the bell alert, active, and ready to learn. By taking an intentional approach to your school’s routing, you provide parents with the confidence to let their children walk or bike, while creating a clear, documented standard for local law enforcement and city engineers to support your school’s unique traffic needs. Under Utah law, this annual update is your opportunity to advocate for the infrastructure improvements and crossing guard placements that keep your students safe from the moment they leave their front door.
District Safe Routes Utah Checklist
As a District Administrator or member of the Transportation Committee, your primary responsibility is to ensure that individual school plans are consistent, safe, and legally compliant before they reach the state. You act as the final oversight body that validates the “Safe Routes” designated by each school. Below is a checklist to guide your district-level review, approval, and submission process.
- Identify the Reviewer: Designate a specific district official (e.g., Transportation Director or Risk Manager) to be the "District Approver" in the Safe Routes Utah portal.
- Set Internal Deadlines: Establish a district-wide deadline for principals to submit their maps for review (typically by late spring or early summer to prepare for the upcoming school year).
- Update Contact Info: Ensure that maps@saferoutesutah.com has the current contact information for the person authorized to approve plans on behalf of the district.
Plan Review: Safety & Content Standards
- Map Accuracy: Verify the school location, current school boundaries, and "walk zones" are correctly identified.
- Mandatory Markings: Confirm the map displays all existing traffic controls (Stop/Yield signs, signals), school crosswalks, and established School Zones.
- Crossing Guard Alignment: Cross-reference crossing guard locations on the map with current municipal staffing contracts.
- Textual Descriptions: Ensure the map is accompanied by a clear, written description of the routes (as required by Utah law).
- Hazard Identification: Check that schools have identified potential "gaps" (e.g., missing sidewalks, railroad crossings, or high-speed roads) and provided safe routing around them.
District-Level Calibration
- Feeder Alignment: Check that routes for elementary schools align logically with the boundaries and routes of the junior high/middle schools they feed into.
- Infrastructure Projects: Consult with city/county engineering to ensure school-designated routes are not currently compromised by planned construction or road closures.
- Transportation Standards: Ensure that walking routes do not overlap with areas where the district provides busing due to "hazardous walking conditions" as defined by R277-600.
Formal Approval & Portal Submission
- Login to Portal: Access the Safe Routes Utah Mapping System using your district-level credentials. (If you don’t have credentials reach out to maps@saferoutesutah.com)
- Approve or Return: If the plan meets all standards, mark it as "Approved." If it requires changes (e.g., a route is redirected due to a new subdivision), send it back to the principal for revision. **Note that once the district clicks “Approve” in the portal, the plan is automatically submitted to UDOT for final recording.
- PDF Generation: Confirm that the school has generated the final Safe Routes Report (PDF) from the system for their records and website.
Post-Submission: Distribution
- Verification of Distribution: Confirm that schools have a plan to distribute the approved map and text description to every enrolled student (usually via the school website, registration packets, or newsletters).
- Public Visibility: Check that the approved map is now visible on the public-facing view of the Safe Routes Utah website (maps will only appear publicly after district approval).