For the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, Plano Independent School District (Plano ISD) has updated its transportation policies by reevaluating accurate hazardous route requirements, restructuring the fare busing program and launching a platform for parents and students to access bus route details.
The changes were approved during a Plano ISD Board of Trustees meeting in March, a press release stated, after a comprehensive transportation audit was conducted by the Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO).
“These updates were not sudden, and they were not made lightly,” said Superintendent of Schools Theresa Williams. “They reflect months of planning, years of data and a commitment to doing what’s right for students both in terms of safety and the responsible use of taxpayer resources.”
According to the release, there are four types of transportation offered by the district, including regular bus transportation, special education transportation, hazardous roadway transportation and fare busing.
The updated plan amends the current policies on hazardous roadway transportation, which is provided to students who live in areas with no walkway that would require children to walk along a freeway, expressway, underpass, bridge, industrial area or other comparable conditions. These areas are evaluated annually, the release stated, and families are notified if the bus route their child is on has changed accordingly. The new guidelines specify that students will have access to this type of transportation if they must cross:
- A four or six-lane highway with a speed limit over 45 miles per hour
- A four or six-lane roadway that does not have pedestrian-activated traffic signals
- U.S. 75 Central Expressway
- Dallas North Tollway
- President George Bush Turnpike
- S.H. 289/Preston Road
- Active railroad tracks
- Areas that do not have sidewalks or safe paths
Amended areas of hazardous bus zoning are available online.
The plan also changes the fare busing program, which allows parents to pay for students who live within two miles of the school — too close for the regular busing routes — and who do not qualify for other transportation to ride on buses with available space.
Additionally, the district unveiled a new platform, My Ride K-12, for families to access individual bus route details like route numbers, scheduled stop times and stop locations. According to the news release, the app will launch later this week.
According to the board meeting in March, fare busing cost the district $1.04 million last year while only receiving $400 thousand from paying families.
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