Transportation

Students who are homeless have the choice of remaining in the school they were attending at the time they became homeless or enrolling in a school near their temporary housing. In either case, students are guaranteed transportation according to the regular policy of Seattle Public Schools.

Seattle School Assignment and Living Within District Boundaries

For elementary students who are homeless and are temporarily housed within their cluster¹, transportation may be by yellow school bus for those who reside outside the walk zone of the school where they are assigned. For elementary students who are homeless and are temporarily housed outside their cluster, transportation may be by yellow school bus, taxi, or other designated source, as determined by the Transportation Office according to the availability of existing transportation routes and options. Seattle schools are grouped in geographic clusters.

For secondary school students who are homeless and temporarily residing and attending school within the boundaries of Seattle Public Schools, yellow school bus or public transportation (Metro) is provided to any secondary student who resides outside the walk zone of the school where they are assigned and within Seattle Public Schools boundaries. Secondary students will be given Metro passes unless there is a yellow school bus already going from the area where they live to the area of the school they attend.

Seattle School Assignment and Living Outside District Boundaries

A Seattle Public Schools student identified as homeless who makes a temporary housing move outside of the Seattle Public Schools boundaries may request to continue attending his/her assigned Seattle school with extended transportation services.² School staff should notify the Transportation Office to request transportation services from the student's out-of-district address. Such transportation may include, but is not limited to, travel to a Seattle Public School boundary to meet transportation from the receiving district, travel all the way to the school, mileage reimbursement for parents to transport their children to school³ or other arrangements as determined by the Transportation Office.⁴

Normally, secondary students who are homeless and move outside Seattle Public Schools boundaries will be given public (Metro) bus passes. However, they may request extended transportation services if the distances involved and excessive time needed to get to school in another district would be a significant barrier to their ability to attend school.

¹Seattle schools are grouped in geographic clusters. Transportation is provided for students living outside the walk zone of the school they attend, but within the geographic area of their clustered schools. Generally, Seattle Public Schools has open enrollment in all schools as long as there is space available. Parents who enroll their child in a school that is physically located outside their geographic cluster must arrange at their own expense to transport their child to school.

²Extended transportation services are those provided to a homeless student who is attending school outside of the cluster where he/she temporarily resides and the parent cannot meet the normal expectation of transporting the student to their out-of-cluster school. Extended services also may be given to students who cross district boundaries to attend school and cannot get back and forth to school using transportation service practices in place for non-homeless students.

³See, In-Lieu Transportation forms.

⁴Usually, transportation costs for students living out-of-district are shared with the school district where they temporarily are residing. This is also true for students enrolled in another district who temporarily live within Seattle school boundaries.