Lawrence said the decision was not made lightly.
“Several significant barriers have made it impossible to provide yellow bus transportation for high school students at this time, including the need for additional buses and drivers,” Lawrence said.
He said while DPS is actively working to purchase additional buses, the typical wait time for new yellow buses is approximately 12 months. When the new state budget was passed in July, which prohibits DPS from purchasing RTA passes for students, there were only six weeks to evaluate other options.
“We are required by the McKinney-Vento law to work with families experiencing displacement who request transportation services, and therefore, once the school year is underway, transportation arrangements will be implemented to support our most vulnerable students (unhoused, group home, and foster care),” Lawrence said.
He added, “While this is not the solution we hoped for, the short timeline provided by the state left the district with limited options. We are committed to finding a long-term solution and will continue to work toward implementing a comprehensive transportation plan for all students, PreK-12.”
Jones said more information about what options will be available should be coming soon.
The district recently sent out a survey about busing options, Jones said.
DPS is facing a busing issue as a new state law bars students from using the downtown Dayton bus hub to transfer if they are using school-issued passes.
The provision in question singles out DPS and blocks its students from transferring bus lines at the Greater Dayton RTA’s downtown bus hub.
The issue became an even greater priority following the April killing of Alfred Hale III, an 18-year-old Dunbar High School student who was shot near the downtown RTA hub on his way to school.
Previously, DPS was buying RTA passes for high school students to get to school. Students can still buy RTA passes on their own.
DPS leadership has said previously that part of the reason why high school students can’t be taken to school on yellow buses is because of a lack of drivers and not having enough buses. Getting a new school bus can take more than a year.
District school board members have said repeatedly that the reason it is difficult to bus high school students is due to the number of charter and private school students they bus around the city due to a different, long-standing state law that requires public school districts to offer transportation to all students in their district, no matter if they attend the public school.
About the Author
