Special Needs Transportation Guide

Curb-to-curb transportation can begin after an IEP meeting is held and it is determined the student requires transportation services. The school will forward information about the student to the routing office, and we will contact you to share the transportation plan for your child. 

Transportation services are renewed annually. It is very important that you complete a transportation application in the spring for the following year. If we do not receive your application, your child's transportation for the new school year may be delayed by up to two weeks. If your school does not send home a transportation application home in the spring, please call us at 918-833-8100 to request one.

Students will receive service that is appropriate to serve them safely in the least restrictive environment as directed by the student's IEP.  For some students with special needs, curbside service will be provided. However, other service levels, including centralized bus stops, may be used. We do not provide transportation to day-cares outside of district boundaries.

The average ride time for a special needs student in the district is approximately 20 minutes. The district attempts to limit rides to less than one hour. In some extreme cases this is not possible.

When new students are added to a route, or a student moves, ride times for other students may be affected. Please keep your current phone number on file with the district. As long as the contact number is current, parents of students riding special needs routes will receive calls the day before any changes take effect.

If there is a change in the student’s address, telephone, daycare, etc., please call the transportation coordinator in Exceptional Student Services at 918-833-8100.  Change requests will be processed within 3 to 5 business days.

In order to keep to the route on schedule, the bus driver will not wait more than two (2) minutes at a student’s residence.  Parents are asked to have students ready five (5) minutes prior to the scheduled pick-up time.

There are extenuating circumstances that could cause a bus to be delayed.  Parents should wait 10 minutes after the assigned time before contacting transportation at 918-933-8100.

If unacceptable behavior is observed, the transportation department will contact your child's school who will then follow-up with you. When serious violations occur, even on the first offense, the student may be suspended from ridership, possibly for the duration of the school year. The school may convene an IEP review to best determine how the student can be transported to and from school.

It is expected that a parent or designee will meet students who receive curbside service. 

If no one is present at the drop-off time to meet a student that cannot be left alone, the student will be transported back to the school or a bus terminal. The parent will need to call transportation at 918-833-8100 for directions.

Students who are ill should not be sent to school. If the child becomes ill during the school day, a parent or guardian is responsible for taking the student home/

If a student does not ride the bus for three consecutive days, the driver will stop going to the stop. In order to resume transportation, please contact transportation’s Customer Service Center at 918-833-8100.  

To cancel a pickup for a day or a range of days, due to illness or while on vacation or some other temporary change in circumstances, please call 918-833-8100 and give notice at least a day in advance.

Seatbelts are to be worn by all students on all special needs routes at all times.

Wheel chairs must meet national safety standards in order to be transported.  Any student requiring a wheelchair will be transported only in his/her wheelchair. If a wheelchair cannot be secured on the bus, or if it is not equipped with a lap belt, the student will not be transported until it is inspected and approved by a transportation supervisor.

Students may retrieve items forgotten on the bus, the next school day. The items will still be on the bus. Unclaimed items will be turned over to the school.

Video cameras will be used on school buses.  Boarding a school bus is considered consent to be photographed and recorded. Neither video images nor audio recordings will be made public.

A limited number of seats may be available for siblings of special needs students to ride with them on the same route.  If the bus has capacity, parents may request bus service for the siblings of their special needs student. However, that capacity is primarily intended for special needs students; if the route fills up, or if the siblings cause any disturbance on the bus, siblings will be excluded from the route.