Ohio – A growing transportation crisis in Ohio is leaving thousands of families scrambling for solutions after school districts determined that roughly 22,000 students were too difficult or costly to transport during the current academic year. The situation has reignited a long-running debate over who should be responsible for transporting students, how taxpayer dollars should be spent, and whether Ohio’s current system is placing unsustainable burdens on public school districts.
According to a draft report prepared by the Ohio Pupil Transportation Workgroup, approximately 22,000 students were declared “impractical” to transport. Of those students, about 21,000 attend private schools. The findings mean that more than one-third of Ohio’s private school students no longer have guaranteed access to school bus transportation.
The issue stems from a state law dating back to 1965 that requires public school districts to provide transportation for many charter and private school students who live within district boundaries. While the law establishes transportation obligations, it also allows districts to decide that transporting certain students is impractical under specific circumstances.
Factors such as distance, transportation costs, route efficiency, travel times, and the availability of other options can all be used to justify a district’s decision not to provide bus service.
When that happens, families do not receive transportation. Instead, they receive Payments in Lieu of Transportation, commonly known as PILO payments. These payments are intended to help offset transportation expenses, but the workgroup report found that the money often falls far short of covering the real costs families face when arranging transportation themselves.
Rising costs and driver shortages fuel the problem
The transportation challenges are arriving at a time when school districts across Ohio are already struggling with increasing costs and a shortage of bus drivers.
State transportation expenses rose nearly 5% during the current school year, reaching roughly $1,273 per student. Meanwhile, districts continue to face staffing shortages that make it difficult to maintain existing bus routes, let alone expand service.
As a result, more districts are turning to the impracticality designation as a way to manage transportation obligations they say are becoming increasingly difficult to fulfill.
The report found that 119 of Ohio’s 280 school districts declared it impractical to transport every eligible private school student within their boundaries. In those districts, private school families were left without direct bus service and forced to seek alternatives.
For many working parents, that creates significant challenges involving work schedules, childcare arrangements, fuel costs, and long daily commutes.
The report suggests that Ohio may need major changes to its transportation system moving forward.
Among the recommendations is the creation of regional transportation networks that would allow public schools, private schools, charter schools, and educational service centers to coordinate transportation services together. The workgroup also recommended fully funding transportation costs and allowing transportation dollars to follow students regardless of which type of school they attend.
Debate grows over responsibility for private school transportation
The findings have intensified political disagreements over whether public school districts should continue carrying much of the responsibility for transporting students attending private schools.
Critics argue that the current arrangement places an unfair financial burden on public school systems that are already struggling with budget pressures.
Piet van Lier, deputy director of Honesty for Ohio Education, was among those questioning the system. “If you want to provide busing for private school students, pay for it and have them bus them,” van Lier said. “They already have a separate school system; they should have a separate busing system too.”
Supporters of the current transportation requirements see the issue differently. Tom Rhatican of the Catholic Conference of Ohio defended the transportation rules, pointing to survey data suggesting that transportation cuts have contributed directly to declining enrollment at some private and charter schools.
State Sen. Andrew Brenner, a Republican from Delaware County who serves on the transportation workgroup, acknowledged that concerns have been raised by families affected by transportation reductions.
According to Brenner, Catholic families in particular have contacted lawmakers after losing access to transportation services they previously relied upon.
Online backlash highlights frustration
The report quickly generated strong reactions online, where residents debated whether the current system is fair to either public schools or families.
One commenter argued that public districts are carrying a financial burden that should not belong to them. “Urban Public School systems are being bankrupted by laws that say it is their responsibility to provide transportation to every private school kid to get from whatever point A to whatever point B they need,” one community member wrote.
Another resident pointed to what they viewed as inconsistencies within the same district. “This past year my son had no bus to his public school 1.9 miles away,” the commenter stated. “However, the neighbor kid was provided a bus by the same district to his private, religious school that is 8.8 miles away.”
Some critics went even further, arguing that state policies are harming public education. One commenter claimed officials were “actively trying to destroy the public school system.”
Others focused less on politics and more on the impact on families. “The fact that 22k students are just getting told ‘figure it out yourself’ while their families might not have the means is the kind of thing that widens the opportunity gap real fast,” one commenter argued.
Not everyone favored eliminating transportation requirements altogether. Some residents argued that every child should have access to transportation regardless of where they attend school. “I think that society should provide transportation to school for all kids,” one resident wrote. “I don’t think that public schools should be under any obligation to transport charter school or private school students.”
Others suggested alternative models used elsewhere. “In New York City, most kids either walk or take public transit to school,” another commenter noted.
For now, the future remains uncertain. Ohio lawmakers have not yet decided whether they will adopt the transportation workgroup’s recommendations. Until then, thousands of families remain caught in a system where transportation is guaranteed on paper for many students but increasingly difficult to provide in practice. As costs rise and staffing shortages continue, the debate over who should pay for getting children to school appears far from over.
