Improving Indiana School Transportation

Families in Indiana have a wide variety of school options. Access to school transportation can often impact whether or not a student can attend a great school. 

Issues like driver shortages, long bus ride times, student safety, and cost affect whether or not schools can offer transportation that meets families needs’ and ensures they can access their best fit school.

With approximately 650,000 Hoosier public school students riding yellow buses to school each day, it is time for our state to address policy and systems that can improve this service for students and families. 

In partnership with EdChoice and the Institute for Quality Education, The Mind Trust is proud to release Driving Change: How School Transportation Gives Families Power to Choose. The report shares:

• An approachable breakdown of current challenges in safety, routing, vehicles, management, and data
• A case study on what a new, collaborative school transportation solution could look like for families and schools
• Recommendations for policy and operational shifts that can help improve school transportation for students across Indiana

Updates to Indiana policy would allow schools of all types the flexibility and partnerships to make critical decisions on student transportation service, including types of vehicles used, increased efficiency on routing, management, operations, and solutions for Indiana’s chronic driver shortage. These innovations are critical to protecting student access to safe, reliable transportation to the school of their choice. 

Policy Report – Protecting School Choice: How Flexibility in Transportation Can Improve Access and Efficiency

The policy report provides an in-depth look at the issue, with an expenditure analysis, detailed review of the current challenges, and policy and operational recommendations to improve school transportation in Indiana. The policy shifts recommended would support the ability of schools to use smaller vehicles and make collaboration between schools and districts easier. Indiana lawmakers have the opportunity to address these issues in the upcoming 2022 legislative session.