![]() “California school districts receive minimal reimbursement of total transportation costs,” Dosanjh said. But that’s still not enough to cover the costs to the district, said spokesperson Sundeep Dosanjh. Districts would no longer be allowed to charge families a fee for transportation to school.Īt Rocklin Unified in Placer County, most students are charged $350 each year to ride the school bus. Skinner’s bill would allow districts to launch state-funded yellow bus programs or partner with public transit agencies to guarantee daily rides to class. The state does not track specific reasons for student absences but attendance workers tasked with reaching out to students who aren’t at school report lack of transportation as a top factor. But for students who do not have access to a car or whose parents’ work schedules cannot accommodate daily drop-offs and pickups, options are limited.Įven students who live within walking distance of school deserve bus access and may not feel safe in their neighborhoods, said Jill Gayaldo, who has worked in California school transportation for 30 years. ![]() Most of California’s students get a private ride to school each day - about 68% - and 18% walk, according to the survey, as the state is home to many urban centers located in close proximity to campuses. Less than 9% of California’s students ride a school bus, the lowest rate of any other state, according to a survey by the Federal Highway Administration in 2017. The bill “will ensure that not having a ride is never again the reason for a child to miss school,” Skinner said in a statement. Skinner’s new bill would provide state funding for daily transportation for all of California’s 6 million K-12 students starting next year, alleviating the financial burden for districts. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), who is proposing that the state require school buses for all. The research is clear: Students with school-provided transportation miss far fewer days and are more likely to graduate,” said state Sen. “Getting to and from school should never be a barrier to student success. Others have cut their fleet of school buses altogether. To fill in the gaps, some districts charge parents annual bus fees or encourage students to take the city bus. The state provides limited funding dedicated to public school transportation, and that funding has barely changed since the early 1980s despite an increase in demand. Some students with disabilities or those experiencing homelessness are guaranteed free transportation under federal law, but what a district provides is otherwise up to local school boards. Unlike some other states, California law does not require school districts to provide buses even if a student lives far from campus. But new legislation is aiming to change that, a policy shift that proponents say could curb absenteeism and narrow inequities. The yellow school bus has become an increasingly rare sight in California.
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