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Policy

Early Childhood CARES will arrange for School District transportation for special education children when Head Start transportation is not available or appropriate and parents are not able to provide their own transportation.

Procedure

  1. Transportation by school district will be identified as a related service on the IFSP when Head Start transportation is not available or appropriate. The child’s resident school district is responsible for providing transportation to the child’s educational program if it is specified. When discussing transportation the following is encouraged:
    1. Whenever possible, family members are encouraged to transport the child to their program if Head Start transportation is unavailable. If a family member transports the child, they may be reimbursed for mileage by the School District. Each School District has its own procedures.
    2. If transportation from the school district is necessary in order for the child to get to his/her educational program, attempts should be made to coordinate locations, days, and times with the school district’s transportation department whenever possible. This is to avoid long bus rides and unnecessary expenses.
    3. In some cases if transportation is specified as a related service a transportation assistant may also be specified, however this is the exception, not the norm.
  2. Transportation Request. To request transportation of identified children by school districts FAs should follow these steps:
    1. Notify IFSP service provider and Regional Manager of the need for transportation.
    2. Early Childhood CARES Service provider completes necessary paperwork (IFSP cover sheet) to initiate a change on current IFSP.
    3. Teacher updates Transportation section of WebCAF.
  3. If there is to be a minor change in pick up or drop off, parent and/or DST should try to communicate the information directly to the bus driver and/or school district.
  4. Children on an IFSP or in the referral process cannot be dropped from our program due to transportation problems. A team meeting will be called to resolve any problems.
  5. Transportation may not be provided by School Districts during Early Childhood CARES service breaks.

This policy complies with Head Start Performance Standard 45CFR Section 1304.21. 1308.4 and Early Childhood CARES Provider handbook
It was approved by Policy Council on April 8, 1997.
Updated July 26, 1999, July 24,2000. October 30, 2000. August 11, 2005. November 2012. August 2013
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