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Modernizing Student Transportation for an Era of K-12 Choice. Backgrounder No. 3954

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Modernizing Student Transportation for an Era of K-12 Choice. Backgrounder No. 3954
Language: English
Authors: Matthew Ladner, Heritage Foundation, Center for Education Policy
Source: Heritage Foundation. 2026.
Availability: Heritage Foundation. 214 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002-4999. Tel: 202-546-4400; Fax: 202-546-8328; e-mail: info@heritage.org; Web site: http://www.heritage.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Student Transportation, Barriers, Parent Attitudes, School Choice, School Districts, Public Schools, Private Schools, School Buildings, Geographic Location, Charter Schools, Transportation
Abstract: The Venn diagram of K-12 choice and student transportation overlaps in a large way. A 2009 survey of parents in Denver and Washington, DC, found that a little more than one-quarter of respondents reported not enrolling their child in the school they preferred due to transportation difficulties. A 2024 parental survey found that half of American parents who enrolled their children in district schools, all else being equal, would prefer to enroll their children in other types of schools--charter, home, and (especially) private schools. In addition to enabling new school options, students require new ways to get to schools and other places of learning. American taxpayers all pay for district yellow school-bus systems, but the buses run almost exclusively for the benefit of students attending their zoned district school. In recent years, the number of district yellow bus systems passengers has declined even as the need for transportation in a choice-based K-12 education environment has grown. Other possible solutions include updating municipal bus systems to better serve students; including transportation as an allowable use under education savings account (ESA) programs; and encouraging the growth of new schools and education vendors and more robust co-location policies modeled after those in New York and Florida.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED680955
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The Venn diagram of K-12 choice and student transportation overlaps in a large way. A 2009 survey of parents in Denver and Washington, DC, found that a little more than one-quarter of respondents reported not enrolling their child in the school they preferred due to transportation difficulties. A 2024 parental survey found that half of American parents who enrolled their children in district schools, all else being equal, would prefer to enroll their children in other types of schools--charter, home, and (especially) private schools. In addition to enabling new school options, students require new ways to get to schools and other places of learning. American taxpayers all pay for district yellow school-bus systems, but the buses run almost exclusively for the benefit of students attending their zoned district school. In recent years, the number of district yellow bus systems passengers has declined even as the need for transportation in a choice-based K-12 education environment has grown. Other possible solutions include updating municipal bus systems to better serve students; including transportation as an allowable use under education savings account (ESA) programs; and encouraging the growth of new schools and education vendors and more robust co-location policies modeled after those in New York and Florida.