# Student transportation: when a bus must be provided (Oregon law + PPS policy)

Retrieved 2026-10-12. Each source has a Markdown copy here (YAML front matter: source URL, sha256, extraction method), and the original download is in `originals/`.

## Findings (each one cited)

**State law, which sets the floor**
- **Distance:** "A school district is required to provide transportation for elementary school students who reside more than one mile from school and for secondary school students who reside more than 1.5 miles from school." The district must also bus "any student identified in a supplemental plan approved by the State Board of Education." Source: ORS 327.043(2), [ors-327-033-327-043.md](ors-327-033-327-043.md).
- **Waivers:** The State Board may waive the requirement only if the district provides "suitable and sufficient alternative transportation" (walking or biking programs, or transit). "Public transportation is not considered suitable and sufficient for elementary school students." Source: ORS 327.043(3).
- **How distance is measured:** From "the closest, reasonable, and prudent point between the school property identified by the local board for that pupil's attendance and the property where the pupil lives," over "the shortest practicable route on maintained public roadways or over existing pedestrian facilities." Source: OAR 581-023-0040(1)(e), [oar-581-023-0040.md](oar-581-023-0040.md).
- **Who counts as elementary or secondary:** Elementary means a school offering only grades K–8. Secondary means a school with any of grades 9–12. Students at a board-designated middle school "may be considered secondary." Source: OAR 581-023-0040(1)(a)–(b).
- **Supplemental plan (hazard busing inside the walk zone):** A board-adopted plan for students "who live within the 1 and 1.5 mile limitations and require transportation based on health or safety reasons." Source: OAR 581-023-0040(1)(g).
- **Transfers:** "Local school boards are not required to provide transportation for students who have requested and received approval to attend a school other than that designated by the local school board for students living in their specified attendance area." Source: OAR 581-023-0040(1)(c).
- **General duty:** The board "shall provide transportation ... where required by law or when considered advisable by the board." Source: ORS 332.405(1), [ors-332-405.md](ors-332-405.md).

**PPS policy**
- **Board Policy 4.10.100-P (2005):** PPS shall bus students who live beyond the state distance from the school they attend *within their attendance boundary*. It also covers high schoolers under any state-approved waiver, special-education students with transportation as a related service, and students transferred under a policy that requires busing. Inside the distance, PPS buses students "who face unsafe and hazardous walking conditions as determined by the District." Busing beyond these requirements is optional, and the Superintendent weighs it, including "equity of access to District educational options." Source: [pps-4-10-100-p-student-transportation-services.md](pps-4-10-100-p-student-transportation-services.md).
- **Service Guidelines (Rev. 08/07/2024), Section B, eligibility:**
  - Elementary: more than 1 mi. Middle: more than 1.5 mi.
  - High school: more than 1.5 mi **and** at least 1 mi from TriMet or other public service. In practice high schoolers get a TriMet logo on their student ID (FAQ).
  - DLI: native speakers attending their assigned program beyond 1 or 1.5 mi are bused. Non-native speakers ride only as "hitchers" on existing routes.
  - District-initiated transfers: bused, whether to relieve overcrowding or to provide a program not otherwise available.
  - Open-enrollment (lottery) transfers: hitchers only. Focus/alternative programs: busing only for students who "test into" the program. "Students attending choice schools through lottery programs are not eligible."
  - IEP/504 students: bused as their plans require.
  - Source: [pps-transportation-service-guidelines-2024.md](pps-transportation-service-guidelines-2024.md).
- **Hazard criteria, Guidelines Section D.3 (K–8 walking routes):** Usable shoulder under 4 ft. Effective speed limit over 20 mph, or a high-crash-network street, with no sidewalk. A crossing over 20 mph with no stop sign, signal or crosswalk. A street over 25 mph or on the high-crash network where a two-lane street has no 4-way stop or signal-plus-crosswalk, or a wider street has no signal-plus-crosswalk.
- **Distance measured differently in the Guidelines than in the OAR:** "Street immediately in front of the school to the street in front of the student residence," via "the most direct combination of roads, streets, highways, and public paths" (Section B.3).
- **Supplemental Transportation Plan (web page):** Defines "hazard zones within 1 mile walk boundaries of elementary schools and 1.5 miles of middle schools." It was rolled out in phases: Phase I, 2023 (SE enrollment-balancing schools); Phase II, 2024 (McDaniel, Grant, Jefferson, Roosevelt clusters); Phase III, 2025 (Westside and Inner SE). Source: [pps-supplemental-transportation-plan-web.md](pps-supplemental-transportation-plan-web.md).
- **Boundary-change criteria, 4.10.049-AD:** Includes "Minimize transportation times and distances" and "Minimize additional expenses for transportation." Source: [pps-4-10-049-ad-boundary-changes.md](pps-4-10-049-ad-boundary-changes.md).

## Caveats
- The Service Guidelines PDF is dated 2024. The pps.net page links it as current, but newer PPS practice may differ.
- The high-school rule in Guidelines B.4 reads "more than one and 1.5 miles" (sic). The meaning is 1.5 miles.
- No hazard-zone map was found. The supplemental plan page says to email transportationplan@pps.net for school-specific details.
- A Portland, **Maine** policy, "EEA-R," shows up in web search for "Portland Public Schools transportation policy." It is not PPS Oregon, so ignore it.

## Index
| Title | File | Source URL |
|---|---|---|
| ORS 327.033 (approved transportation costs; definitions) and ORS 327.043 (when district required to provide transportation) — 2025 edition | [ors-327-033-327-043.md](ors-327-033-327-043.md) | https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors327.html |
| ORS 332.405 Transportation; board and room; pedestrian facilities | [ors-332-405.md](ors-332-405.md) | https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors332.html |
| OAR 581-023-0040 Approved Transportation Costs for Payments from the State School Fund | [oar-581-023-0040.md](oar-581-023-0040.md) | https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=581-023-0040 |
| PPS Board Policy 4.10.100-P Student Transportation Services (adopted 6-27-2005) | [pps-4-10-100-p-student-transportation-services.md](pps-4-10-100-p-student-transportation-services.md) | https://www.pps.net/fs/resource-manager/view/d8da3d5d-1d38-40df-921d-d1ca07996e67 |
| PPS Administrative Directive 4.10.101-AD Transportation for Students Attending Neighborhood Schools | [pps-4-10-101-ad-transportation-neighborhood-schools.md](pps-4-10-101-ad-transportation-neighborhood-schools.md) | https://www.pps.net/fs/resource-manager/view/0217432e-56f7-4b68-81b3-281028e0d858 |
| PPS Administrative Directive 4.10.049-AD Student Assignment Review & School Boundary Changes | [pps-4-10-049-ad-boundary-changes.md](pps-4-10-049-ad-boundary-changes.md) | https://www.pps.net/fs/resource-manager/view/c38f7930-5a61-483c-ad23-867d72b5be29 |
| PPS Student Transportation Service Guidelines (Rev. 08/07/2024) | [pps-transportation-service-guidelines-2024.md](pps-transportation-service-guidelines-2024.md) | https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1751562292/ppsnet/thzskadliar1v7qds4yc/Service_Guidelines_Student_Transportation_2024.pdf |
| PPS Supplemental Transportation Plan (web page) | [pps-supplemental-transportation-plan-web.md](pps-supplemental-transportation-plan-web.md) | https://www.pps.net/departments/transportation/supplemental-transportation-plan |
| PPS Student Transportation Frequently Asked Questions (web page) | [pps-transportation-faq-web.md](pps-transportation-faq-web.md) | https://www.pps.net/departments/transportation/frequently-asked-questions |
| PPS Superintendent letter to House Education Committee re HB 3014 (Feb 22, 2023) | [pps-2023-hb3014-testimony.md](pps-2023-hb3014-testimony.md) | https://apps.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/PublicTestimonyDocument/53708 |