Student Driving and Parking

Please keep in mind that there is a difference between the school permit and a parking permit. The school permit is issued by the Department of Transportation for the purpose of driving from home to school. It does not allow a student to park at Ames High. A school parking permit allows a student to park on campus and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking is limited. The administration reserves the right to revoke parking privileges for any student who fails to comply with building and district driving and parking rules and procedures.

School License

Ames High School requires verification of a special need for a minor school license. Students who believe they may qualify for a school driving permit need to see the principal’s secretary to obtain information and guidelines for this privilege. Typically, the requirements have been the following:

Passed driver education course
Reside more than one mile from AHS
Participate in an activity that meets more than three times per week

Students who believe they qualify will need to pick up the AHS Drive to School Waiver form from Mrs. Steenhagen in the main office. Once the form has been completed and signed by the coach or sponsor verifying the student’s membership in the current activity, the student will return the form to Mrs. Steenhagen to obtain the DOT form.

Work Permits

Work Permits are available in the main office to students wanting to secure employment with local employers.

On-Campus Parking

All student vehicles that are parked in the AHS parking lot during the school day must be registered with the school. Students failing to park in student-designated locations (i.e. on 20th and/or in staff parking), will be subject to fines and/or towing. There will be a large number of students unable to park in the high school parking lot this year until the new staff parking lot is completed during the summer of 2023.

All school vehicles parked at AHS or Furman Aquatic Center during the school day must be registered with the school. Students are required to purchase a hang tag that must be displayed on the rearview mirror. The cost of a parking tag is $5.00. Students that violate the hang tag requirement or park in restricted areas or illegally may receive a fine. Students who accumulate up to 5 parking tickets will be subject to towing and/or may lose their on-campus parking privileges. Parking tickets will be issued for both directly on campus parking as well as at Furman. Students should NOT park anywhere else beside the two official parking lots, especially not Northminster Presbyterian.

The number of available parking spaces have been calculated for student parking. Based on last year’s purchased parking passes, there will be adequate parking for junior and senior students with a few spaces available for sophomores. Juniors and Seniors will have until the day before the first day of school to purchase their parking permit. The remaining parking permits will be allocated to sophomores during the first day of school on a “first come” basis. The remaining sophomores and freshmen will be able to purchase parking permits for the Furman Aquatic Center.