Austin ISD expands transportation services for more families

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Independent School District says more students will be able to take the bus to school in the 2021-22 school year after it prioritized funding for expanded transportation.

AISD says it will expand school bus transportation for 24 elementary, middle, and high school campuses this fall which will make students living within a two-mile radius from select schools eligible for transportation.

The expanded bus routes include:

• Students whose home campus are these schools and they live 0.4 miles or more: Andrews, Blackshear, Campbell, Dawson, Harris, Jordan, Oak Springs, Metz/Sanchez, Pecan Springs, Zavala, Norman-Sims, Odom, Winn and Widen.
• Students whose home campus are these and they live 1 mile or more: Burnet, Dobie, Garcia YMLA, Martin, Sadler Means YWLA, Webb, Crockett, Eastside Memorial, Northeast and Travis.

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Districtwide transportation will be available for the Winn Elementary Montessori and Sadler Means YWLA.

Under current state funding requirements, the AISD does not receive funding to provide transportation services to students who live within the two-mile radius. AISD says it will invest its resources to add additional bus routes.

AISD officials say the district has recently seen a steady decline in enrollment and they say some of it is due to students not having transportation. They say this effort is aimed to support student retention and increase enrollment.

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"We hope this expansion will create a path to re-enroll students," AISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said in a news release. "We are committed to investing in providing additional services for our students while they pursue an excellent education in Austin ISD."

Families who will benefit from the expansion will be contacted with more information. Families can also contact their campus principal or the transportation department at 512-414-0238.