Under IDEA, transportation is a “related service” that must be provided to kids with an IEP.1 Transportation must also be provided to infants and toddlers as part of Early Intervention Services.2
Transportation includes travel between home and school; between schools (if the child attends more than one campus); travel within and around school buildings (if that is a challenge); and specialized equipment like ramps, lifts, or adapted buses if required to transport the child with a disability.3
What kind of transportation will be provided to my child? This depends entirely on what your child’s needs are. If your child has Sensory Processing Disorder, he/she may not be able to ride the regular large bus to school. If your child is in a wheelchair or has other physical impairments, he/she might require a specially-adapted vehicle. Alternatively, you as the parent may be reimbursed by the district if you provide the transportation agreed to by the IEP team.
Transportation needs should be discussed during an IEP meeting or 504 planning meeting. If the school district needs to send the child with a disability outside the school for services or places the child in an ‘out of district’ program or private school, the school district must also provide transportation to those services or program.
Learn more about how school buses and transportation for your child with a disability fits into planning for your child’s education and IEP in our book SchoolKidsLawyer’s Step-By-Step Guide to Special Education Law.
1. 20 U.S.C. §1401(26)(A); 34 C.F.R. §300.34(a).
2. 20 U.S.C. §1432(4)(E)(xiv); 34 C.F.R. §300.34(a).
3. 34 C.F.R. §300.34(c)(16).