TIP SHEET

What Families Should Know About School Busing

Specialized busing is a special education related service that goes on your child's Individualized Education Program (IEP).

New Procedures for the 2021-2022 School Year

There are new procedures this year to notify families of their child’s busing information:

Information is now available through your NYCSA account on the NYC Department of Education website. NO LETTERS will be mailed out this year.
The information will include the name of the bus company, route number, pick-up and drop off locations. Once that information is received, and after the bus company does a dry run, the time of pick-up will be created by the bus company. The bus company will call you with this information.
Families of charter school students can receive NYCSA codes directly from their charter schools starting mid-September. Families of non-public school students can get information about their child’s bus route from their school.

This year, your first call should be the Transportation Coordinator at your child’s school. That person may be the Parent Coordinator, school secretary, teacher or other person as designated by the principal. It will be their job to help you with this information. The OPT Call Center will refer you back to your child’s school.

As always, Specialized Busing must appear on your child’s IEP. Transportation is the very last section, and only with prior approval will it be listed. For a child who needs busing with accommodations such as a minibus, climate control (e.g. air conditioning or heat), a lift, or limited travel time (LTT), these accommodations must be approved by the Office of Student Health. You will need to submit medical and HIPPA forms to them for their approval.
If you would like to request that your child be dropped off from school at a different location than your home address, fill out an Alternate Drop-off form and submit it to OPT. You can find the form here.

If you face any of these challenges:

Bus arrives late or early at home.
Students on the bus have behavior issues.
Documented IEP busing services are not being provided, e.g. no lift or ramp where needed, required para not present, or travel time exceeded.

Here's what you can do:

Call 311. There is a dedicated portal for school information and to file a complaint.
You may call OPT and explain that you are calling about a complaint: 718-392-8855.
Keep a record of the dates, times, complaint numbers, and all people you speak with at OPT. Have pen and paper ready to take down complaint numbers and any other information provided.
Contact your school's Transportation Coordinator every time the issue occurs

For more information, please visit OPT's Website or call the INCLUDEnyc Help Line at (212) 677-4660.

Download this form to change the student’s after school drop-off address.