Special Needs Transportation Guide for Parents

Curb-to-curb transportation will 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. Routing will design a transportation plan and the parents will be contacted by phone with those details.

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

The average ride time on a special needs route is 20min. With programs located all over the district, your student's travel time will depend on many factors. The district attempts to limit riding time to less than one hour.

Please keep your current phone number on file with the district. Travel time may change when modifications are made to a route.  So long as their current number is on file, parents of students riding special needs routes will receive calls the day before any changes take effect.

In order to keep to routes on schedule, drivers will not wait more than two minutes at a student’s residence.  Parents are asked to have students ready five minutes prior to the scheduled pick-up time.

It is expected that a parent or designee will meet students who receive curbside service. If no one meets a student that cannot be left alone, the student will be considered non-deliverable and will be transported back to the school or a bus terminal.  The parent will need to call Transportation at 918-833-8100 for directions.

Seatbelts are to be worn by all students on special needs routes at all times. If your student exhibits impulsive behavior, additional safety options are available. Safety on the bus can be discussed with Transportation and your student's school at any  IEP meeting

Dozens of students are transported on buses in the district every day, using buses equipped with lifts.

In order to be transported in a wheel chair, the student's chair must meet national safety standards.  Any student requiring a wheelchair will be transported only in their own wheelchair. If a wheelchair cannot be safely secured on the bus, or if it is not equipped with a lap belt, the student will not be transported, until the chair is corrected or replaced. After the equipment is inspected and approved by a transportation supervisor, transportation services will resume.

If a student does not ride the bus for 3 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.  Service will resume within 3 to 5 school days.

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

Students that are ill should not be sent to school.  A parent or guardian is responsible for taking the student home if the student becomes ill at school.

To cancel a pickup for a day or a range of days, due to extended illness, please call 918-833-8100 and give notice at least a day in advance.

There are many circumstances that could cause a bus to run late.  Please wait up to 10 minutes after the scheduled stop time, then call Transportation at 918-833-8100 if the bus has still not arrived.

If unacceptable behavior is observed, the transportation department will contact the school’s administration.  Parents will be notified as appropriate by the principal or designee.  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.

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 are in use on all school buses, for documentation, training, and safety purposes.  Boarding a school bus is considered consent to be photographed and recorded. Neither video images nor audio recordings will be made public.

If there is a change in the student’s address, telephone number, daycare arrangements, 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.

Special needs transportation services are renewed every year. They do not continue from year to year unless we hear from you!

It is very important that you complete a transportation application in the spring if you need transportation to continue in the fall. If an application is not received, then your student’s transportation will not be in place at the start of school, and it will take two weeks or more to get it started.

Exceptional Student Services will send applications home in the spring, and then tries to contact all families who do not return an application. Please watch for those applications and keep your phone number on file up to date!

If your school does not send home a transportation application home in the spring, please call Transportation at 918-833-8100 and request one.