Pupil Transportation Guide: A Guide for Massachusetts School Administrators

August 1996

• Letter from the Commissioner
• Guidelines for Student Transportation Planning and Policy Development for School Administrators
• Transportation Policy
• Measurable Distances
• Appeals to Department
• Pupil Transportation Reimbursement
• Day Care Centers — Pupil Transportation
• Summary of General Laws Relevant to School Transportation

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Appeals to Department

If the distance between a child's residence and the school the child is entitled to attend or the nearest school bus stop exceeds the distances set forth in M.G.L. c.71, s.68, and a school committee fails to provide transportation within two weeks after a parent or guardian has submitted a written request for such transportation, the parent or guardian may appeal to the Department in the following manner:

1. Submission of Written Appeal
   A written appeal shall be sent to the Director of the School Governance, Environment and Structural Support Services, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149. The appeal shall state the measurable distances involved, the reasons the parent or guardian is requesting transportation and reasons, if any, that the school committee has failed to provide the requested transportation. Copies of all written correspondence between the parent or guardian and the school committee which has pertinence to the appeal shall be included with the appeal request.
   
   
2. Initiation of Investigation
   Upon receipt of such a written appeal from a parent or guardian, the Department may investigate the routes and measurable distances involved, the reasons the school committee has failed to provide transportation, whether the school committee has failed to provide transportation to other children similarly situated, and other relevant matters. Routes and measurable distances will be measured in accordance M.G.L. c.71, s.68.
   
   
3. Written Decision
   Upon completion of the Department's investigation, if it is determined that the measurable distance exceeds the distances set forth in the statute, the Department may require a school committee to furnish transportation for part or all of such measurable distance. The Department's decision shall be in writing and may be enforced through appropriate legal action.

Last Updated: August 1, 1996