REMINDER! Students who have not utilized transportation for 20 days total will be marked inactive in the SmartTAG system. If this occurs, please contact Transportation to reactivate your students.

Registration for transportation is a requirement for all students to secure their seat on the bus. Students who are not registered and arrive at the bus stop will be transported to school, but will not be transported home. Parents/guardians will be contacted to pick up student until registration for transportation is completed. Fill out the registration form >>

No, students are marked inactive after not utilizing the bus for 20 school days. Should your student transportation status change you can register for the bus at that time.

Please call 360-412-4545, we will mail you the registration. You can mail it back, scan it to dispatch@nthurston.k12.wa.us or drop it off.

Please email dispatch@nthurston.k12.wa.us

No. If your student qualifies for special transportation services, your qualification was processed through the Special Education department or Homeless/Foster Care liaison, and we have received an official Student Transportation Request from that department which is your registration.

Please email dispatch@nthurston.k12.wa.us.

In order to maximize our current resources and provide the most efficient transportation services, routes are being re-built for the 2021-2022 school year to serve the students who are eligible for transportation and who will be actively using transportation.

Yes there is a $394.00 fine. RCW 46.61.372

No. Please call 360-412-4545 to report and absence. Dispatch will attempt to let the driver know. WAC 392-145-031-(6) Except in accordance with district policy, a school bus driver shall not use a personal electronic device for personal communications while operating a school bus, except for the use of such devices to report illegal activity, summon medical or other emergency help, or prevent injury to a person or property, as permitted under RCW 46.61.667. For the purpose of this section, operating a school bus is defined as when the school bus engine is running.

We are experiencing a period of growth and due to the increased need of resources for our students as of 1/1/18 we are unable to accommodate siblings riders. You need to transport the sibling(s) or have them ride the general education bus (if you live within the boundary for the school of attendance).

No, bus passes are no longer accepted effective Sept 2020. Students need to load and unload at their assigned bus stops.

Bus drivers are not authorized to change bus stops. You can submit a request for a new bus stop and it will be evaluated based on board policy and established guidelines on criteria for bus stop selection.

The Boys & Girls club maintains the order of the availability of the slots and the waiting list. They send us notification of when they are moving up on the list.

Go to our employment website and fill out an application. Call our Driver Trainers office at 360-412-4536.

Activate your parent account through the Smart Tag Parent Portal. Launch the Parent Portal >>

They are contained in our Handbook. Download a copy here.

STOP - at the end of the crossing art. Make eye contact with your driver.

STOP - at the edge of the bus just in front of the driver. Make eye contact with the driver.

CROSS - only begin to cross after the driver has given you the signal that all traffic has stopped and it is now safe to cross the street.

Please call 360-412-4545.

School districts are not funded to provide transportation to students that live within a mile of their school. The walk zones are set and approved by the NTPS School Board.

Due to safety and time challenges, we ask you call the transportation office and request to speak with your students driver. This will ensure that the driver has adequate time to discuss your needs and concerns. Any changes in your student's schedule or who may be getting your student off the bus should be relayed through our dispatch office. The driver may have a substitute not be aware of any change. Boarding a school bus to talk to a driver or student is prohibited.

Texts and emails about late times (and other notifications) come through the Smart Tag System. Activate your parent account to adjust your notification settings. Launch the Parent Portal >>

No. Routes are built to accommodate the amount of students in a specific area that qualify for transportation according to the capacity of a bus.

Students are expected to be at the bus stop 5 minutes before the scheduled bus arrival. Bus drivers are instructed not to wait for tardy students. Drivers do not honk the horn to alert students of their arrival. Please see page 29 of the Student Rights & Responsibilities Handbook.

A school bus is not considered a slow-moving vehicle. RCW 46.61.427 and WAC 296-307-065.

Parents are not permitted to ride route buses.

You will need to contact your student’s school to update your phone number and address.

For safety reasons, if your child misses the bus do not attempt to chase, pass, or block the bus along its route. If possible, take a different route to a stop ahead of the school bus and let your child board there. When in your car, directly behind a school bus, it is very dangerous for a child to attempt to run from the car along the side of the bus to board. Throughout the nation there have been fatalities where students have fallen in front of the rear wheels of a departing bus after they have jumped out a parent’s car to run up and catch the bus. If you are unsure of stops further along the route call 360-412-4545 and we may be able to advise you of the location and notify the driver.

The driver should check their bus after every route and turn any items they find into the school. They are not permitted to have loose items on their bus. If you still cannot locate your student items, contact us at 360-412-4545.

No, if your student arrived on the bus after the bell, your student’s tardy will not be counted against them.

Fill out the online registration with the updated information through transportation. Should additional information be required you will be contacted by the dispatch office.

ACT Early Release is 75 minutes earlier than the regular release time. Buses will arrive at their stop approximately 75 minutes earlier than their normal stop time. Please see a full list of all the school hours.

Half day releases are 3.5 hours earlier than the normal release time. The buses will arrive at their stop approximately 3.5 hours earlier than the schedule stop time. Please see a full list of all the school hours.

WAC 392-145-060 (3) School bus drivers shall have the primary responsibility for the safety of passengers while they are boarding the school bus, while they are on the school bus, and while they are disembarking the school bus and crossing the roadway. If passengers must cross the road, the driver shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that they cross safely and that they pass in front of the school bus and never behind the school bus. The driver shall likewise ensure that passengers boarding or disembarking from the school bus are within their view at all times.

Visit OSPI's School Bus Inspection Reports Page.

Our online submission form is designed for you to submit concerns, comments, and recognition. You can also contact us by phone at 360-412-4545

This is pending — we cannot ensure social distancing in the bus lounge, and we are working on an alternate plan with the task force

The driver, The Student Transportation Support Specialist and cooperation of the parent and school.

School buses, like any other form of transportation, are significantly affected by many uncontrollable factors. These factors are not limited to but can include factors like weather, trains, road construction, traffic accidents, and breakdowns. The buses have a 5 minute window on each side of the stop time to allow for these factors. In the driver is within the 5 minutes before or the 5 minutes after the stop time the driver is considered to be on time. We make every attempt to send out an automated message to families assigned to a bus route that will be more than 10 minutes late.

We are not funded to provide transportation to students who live outside of the school’s attendance boundary. The State OSPI rates our transportation department on our efficiency and our funding is based off of that efficiency rating. When you apply for a waiver, you waive all rights to school district transportation. It is stated on the waiver request that if filled out and turned in for approval, you will need to provide transportation.

This is pending — we cannot ensure social distancing in the bus lounge, and we are working on an alternate plan with the task force.