LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After elementary and middle school Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) students returned to classrooms last Friday, high schoolers did the same on Monday.

Elementary and middle school students on buses were home by 7:43 p.m. last Friday.

The return of high school students on Monday added 26,000 bus riders to the mix for JCPS. As the school day got underway, officials said there were a few bumps in the road, and officials warned there could be minor delays. The official grace period requested by the district is 30 to 45 minutes. 

"We want to remind parents that there will be delays again, in the morning and in the afternoon," JCPS spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan said Monday. "We've been asking for that 30 to 45 minute grace period, so if your bus is supposed to arrive at X time, if you give if 30 to 45 minutes, and then call 485-RIDE or your school to check in on that. That worked really well on Friday, so we're hoping that can work well again today."

LMPD responded to four crashes involving JCPS buses before the end of the morning commute Monday, but no injuries were reported. 

One bus dropping students at Waggener arrived about 20 minutes after the first bell. The school's principal, Sarah Hitchings, said that was a substantial improvement over last year when two busloads of students routinely missed the entire first period -- about an hour of instruction time.

"In the high school, those are credit-bearing classes -- you can't miss Algerbra II every day," Hitchings said. "So we had to make major adjustments schoolwide to accommodate. So just the fact that, here on day one -- day two -- we almost have our entire fleet in for first period, which is definitely a win."

JCPS spokesman Mark Hebert said there was one instance where a bus was delayed when a parent tried to board a bus. 

"I just came from a bus depot where we had one bus arrive late because a parent got into a dispute with the bus driver about where the bus stop was, and would not leave the bus alone," Hebert said. "So that bus was running late. But the bus depot coordinator handled it well."

Students began the new school year Wednesday, Aug. 9, but the first day was plagued with bus delays in the morning and the afternoon as the district had implemented new school start times and bus routes. 

Some students' buses never showed up that morning, and others didn't get dropped off from school that evening until almost 10 p.m.

JCPS plans to get a new app for parents to be able to track their child's bus. 

The Edulog Parent Portal Lite app shows users when a school bus is scheduled to pick up and drop off a student. Parents can turn on notifications to be alerted when a bus comes within a certain distance of their homes.

JCPS has a new "Return to School" website meant to help parents check the district's Bus Finder and get answers to common questions. To access it, click here.

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