Frequently Asked Questions

Am I Eligible?

Your child may be eligible to ride if:

1. You live 2 or more miles from your child’s designated campus.  
   Please Note: Plano ISD uses a computerized routing and mapping system as the standard by which all eligibility measurements are made.  The shortest path on public roadways is measured between the midpoint of a home address and the flagpole at the school.  For apartment complexes, the measurement point is the property line closest to the school.
2. Your child is a registered Plano ISD student and your address is up to date with the registrar.
   Please note: Your student can only be routed to the address indicated in Skyward/Parent Portal, so please ensure that information is kept current.

Transfer Students

Plano ISD DOES NOT provide transportation to and from school for students approved for inter-district transfers.

• Inter-District Transfer Guidelines
• Transfer Student Board Policies

The District shall not provide transportation for a transfer student.

Google Maps uses an algorithm that typically optimizes a trip by drive time rather than by shortest distance.  Plano ISD follows TEA (Texas Education Agency) guidelines for measuring the shortest distance on public roadways. Plano ISD calculates the shortest distance using Transfinder routing software, not Google Maps.

To minimize the ride time spent on the bus, bus stops are placed at centralized locations that can be safely accessed by all eligible students. Stops are not placed in dead end streets to minimize bus accidents while backing up (Backing is a very dangerous maneuver for a School bus).

If you have concerns about your child's safety, you are encouraged to accompany your child to the bus stop or arrange a neighborhood buddy to walk with your child.

Elementary School students may be required to walk up to .25 miles to a bus stop. Middle School .50 miles and High School up to .50 miles.

Your child should arrive at the stop at least 10 minutes before the scheduled pick up time.

If there is a substitute driver, there is a chance the bus could be a few minutes late.  Please understand the times may not be absolutely consistent with the regular scheduled pickup times due to traffic, weather, and other unforeseen occurrences.

If the bus is late, ask your child to remain at the stop. There may be incidents beyond our control but there will always be a bus at every stop. If the wait becomes extreme (approximately 20 minutes), please call the Transportation Dispatch office at 469-752-0792.

Buses will load students and depart the stop. Regular buses do not wait for late students. Special needs transportation follows much the same criteria but will wait up to 2 minutes at the stop.

All buses will wait 10 minutes at the school (unless otherwise instructed by campus administrator)  in the afternoon for students to board. Students are expected to proceed immediately to the buses. Bus drivers are instructed not to stop, or open, the door for late students due to safety concerns.

All of our buses are equipped with AC, and our drivers are instructed to continuously run the AC to keep the bus as cool as possible. However, Texas is known for its high temperatures, and as we open and close the door repeatedly to allow students on and off the bus, the cool air is released, making it hard to maintain a low bus temperature. 

We appreciate your patience as we do everything within our power to keep your student(s) cool during those high-temperature days.

Please see your student's home campus registrar. 

General Ed Students

Pre-K, K and 1st-grade students will only be released to those with a color-coded matching bus placard. In the event a bus placard is not presented, the adult picking up must show proof of identity to the driver using a valid Government-issued Photo ID (Driver's License/Identification Card or Passport) in order to receive the student. Showing mobile phone images of an ID will not be accepted. Please see the Bus Badge Badge and Parent Placard link for more information.

Special Needs Students

All Special Needs students not designated LUI/LUO must be released to an authorized person with proper government ID verified by Dispatch.  A Special Needs student can also be released by the driver and bus assistant through personal knowledge with prior ID check and verification.

If the person attempting to receive the student cannot be verified, or if nobody comes to receive the student, the student must be returned to the campus.

Bus Stop Protocol for Special Needs Students

• Special Needs students should be ready for pick up 10 minutes prior to scheduled pick-up time.
• Special Needs buses will wait for 2 minutes past the pick-up time and then proceed.
• If a Special Needs student is not designated as LUI (Leave Unattended Inside) or LUO (Leave Unattended Outside), they MUST be escorted by the parent or guardian.
• Special Needs buses will wait 10 minutes after the dismissal bell, the specified time on their route copy or when instructed by the campus administrator and when all students are present and accounted for before departing the campus.

Transportation follows a strict protocol when dropping off our students. 

General Ed Students

Pre-K, K, and 1st-grade students will only be released to those with a color-coded matching bus placard. In the event a bus placard is not presented, the adult picking up must show proof of identity to the driver using a valid Government-issued Photo ID (Driver's License/Identification Card or Passport) in order to receive the student. Showing mobile phone images of an ID will not be accepted. Please see the Bus Badge Badge and Parent Placard link for more information.

Special Needs Students

All Special Needs students not designated LUI/LUO must be released to an authorized person with proper government ID verified by Dispatch.  A Special Needs student can also be released by the driver and bus assistant through personal knowledge with prior ID check and verification.

If the person attempting to receive the student cannot be verified, or if nobody comes to receive the student, the student must be returned to the campus.

It is important that you arrive at your students' bus stop before their drop time. If a parent/guardian of a PreK, Kinder, or 1st-grade student fails to arrive at the bus stop on time, the student will be returned to their campus.  If you are running late, call the campus before the student is loaded onto the bus, or call our Dispatch Call Center if your student is already onboard 469-752-0792.

All students must ride their assigned bus.  Bus-hopping or changing from assigned buses is not permitted.  Students may ONLY utilize their designated stop as assigned by TransFinder.  Buses will stop at designated stops only.

All items brought on board must fit in the student’s lap. Please make special arrangements for transporting large articles such as large band instruments (such as, but not limited to, tubas and euphoniums), large projects, or any other item which would take up another student’s seat.

Sports Equipment (such as, but not limited to a basketball or tennis racquet) and Color Guard props (such as, but not limited to guns and swords) must be COMPLETELY concealed in a duffle bag or backpack and not visible to the driver or students. Golf Clubs and Color Guard flags or poles are not able to be transported on the bus.

Skateboards are prohibited.

For specific information regarding Transportation, email buses@pisd.edu or call 469-752-0780.

The bus driver is responsible for the safe operation of the school bus and the safety and discipline of the bus students. The bus is an extension of the classroom, and discipline will be administered by the principal with assistance from the bus driver.  No student will be transported by a school bus that is termed ineligible for transportation by the Plano ISD policies and TEA guidelines.

A video camera observation system is in use on all of the school buses in our district. These cameras are for the safety of our students and are used to monitor bus discipline.  The tapes are kept strictly confidential and are limited to viewing by authorized personnel/staff representing Plano ISD, parents/guardians of students affected by a bus conduct report, or appropriate law enforcement officials if warranted.

Plano ISD General Education Bus Safety Rules

1. Follow directions the first time they are given.
2. Stay in your seat, facing the front, keeping the aisle clear with feet on the floor.  Keep all parts of your body and objects to yourself and inside the bus.
3. No pushing, fighting, loud talking, playing music, using cell phones in a distracting way to drivers or others, or profanity allowed.
4. No eating, drinking, chewing gum, drugs, tobacco products, laser pointers or weapons of any kind are allowed on the bus.
5. Keep the bus clean. DO NOT VANDALIZE the bus.
6. Cooperate with the bus driver and be respectful of the bus driver and other students.
7. You may get on and off at your designated bus stop only.
8. Do not operate service door or touch emergency equipment except in a true emergency.
9. Be at the bus stop 10 minutes prior to pickup time, standing back 6 feet and wait for bus doors to open.
10. Seatbelts must be worn at all times while the bus is in motion if equipped with them.

11. School Bus Code of Conduct

• At no time will students act toward or address comments to a bus driver in a disrespectful manner or refuse to cooperate with the bus driver.
• Students shall get on or off the bus only at their assigned stop.
• Students shall not refuse to sit in an assigned seat or deny another person a place to sit.
• Students will be expected to remain seated for the duration of the trip, and remain seated until the bus door opens.
• Students shall not throw or shoot articles within the bus or out of the bus window, and shall not extend any part of their body, clothing, or other articles out of the bus window.
• Students shall not take or handle any emergency equipment inside the bus, and shall never board or leave the bus through the emergency exits except in an emergency.
• Students shall never attempt to operate the passenger door except in cases of extreme emergency.
• Students shall not yell, scream, whistle, or play radio, or cell phone on the bus.
• Students shall not write upon, disfigure, or destroy any part of the school bus.
• Scuffling, fighting, and the use of obscene, vulgar, or profane language are forbidden.
• Students shall not carry weapons, explosives (such as fireworks), unsheathed pointed articles, animals, intoxicating beverages, or drugs on the bus.
• Students shall not eat, drink, or litter on the bus.
• Students shall arrive at the bus stop 10 minutes prior to the scheduled time. They shall stand well back from the roadway in an orderly group and not approach the bus until the door has opened.
• All students living on the left side of the roadway shall exit the bus and move to a point 10-12 feet in front of the right bumper and wait for the driver to signal that it is safe to cross.  Students shall never cross behind the bus.
• Students shall face forward for the duration of the trip, shall keep their feet on the floor in front of them, and out of the aisle.
• Students will abide by the individual school’s rules and regulations concerning bus students.
• Serious offenses are defined but not limited to those listed above.