After several years of bus driver shortages, Columbus City Schools said it has drivers to cover its routes, but hundreds of students who live in the district and attend charter or nonpublic schools will not receive bussing this year.
About 1,380 charter and nonpublic school students received letters from the district said bussing wouldn't be provided this year, because of an Ohio law that states public schools don't have to provide transportation if students are traveling more than 30 minutes.
The letters said that while the district didn't rely on the rule in the past, "ongoing challenges have forced CCS to enforce this rule."
The district said it's necessary to plan efficient routes around new road construction projects and traffic patterns, especially with students spread out all over the large district.
CCS told families it used Google Maps to run more than 21,200 routes between students' nearest public school and their private schools of choice. CCS also tested some of the routes to prove they take 30 minutes or more.
“In every instance of the sampling, the actual time traveled was either equal to or exceeded the high-end range that the Google map provided,” one letter reads.
Families of private school students can contest their ineligibility for bussing by asking for the official timing of their route from the Ohio Department of Education. The district reminded families that requested timing must take place during the actual time that students would be traveling to or from school. Requests are due by Sept. 3.
Columbus City Schools' students went back to school on Wednesday. The district has 470 bus routes for its schools.
For those students attending district schools, the CCS has 446 drivers on staff, with 429 of those currently eligible to drive, according to the district. Twenty-nine drivers are in training. The district also has 25 transportation supervisors.
