Kindergarten & Special Needs

The start of kindergarten is a very exciting and nerve-wracking experience for students and parents. We would like to share some information to help the beginning of the year be as successful as possible for your family.

• Bus Stops — You will be unable to find route information on our website for your student. Each student who requires specific accommodations is looked at and routed individually. Once a transportation request for special needs transportation is received, you will be contacted with the route information and start date for your student.
• Day Care — If your student will be attending a day care at any part of the day, you will need to notify the school that your child attends. The school will add the day care address, and we will be able to route transportation to and from the daycare if it is within the boundary lines of the school's attendance zone. Your student will only be transported to an address we have on file. See child care facilities by school boundaries. 
• Must be Met Policy — We follow a procedure called Must Be Met for all kindergarten & special needs students. It requires each bus driver to release students ONLY to an identified adult at the bus stop. If no adult is present, the student will be returned to the NTPS Transportation Department to await parent pick-up. We do have a waiver that is available if you wish for your student to be let off the bus without an adult (see above). Please inform your child that if they do not see you or the person who is designated to get them off the bus, they need to remain on the bus and not to get off the bus. It is ok for the student to stay on the bus for the remainder of the route, and you will reunite with your child at the NTPS Service Center. This helps to remove any uncertainty the student may have.
• SMART tag ID Tags — All kindergarten students are required to have their SMART tag ID when they ride the bus. These are tags that will be provided to you. They help identify your student, the bus they need to be on, and the stop location they are assigned to. They can be replaced throughout the year from the school or the driver if they are worn, or lost.
• Notifications — Please maintain current contact information with your school. When there is a transportation emergency, a student is sick or injured on the bus, students board the wrong bus, we use that information to contact you. Learn more about the SMART tag parent app.
• Plan of the Day — Please remember it is important for both you and your student to memorize: Your bus route number, your bus stop location, and your regular pickup and drop-off times. Please share the plan for the day with your child. Your child can help remind schools staff and the driver if they are supposed to be picked up from school or to go home on the bus.
• Special Needs Kindergarten Students — Each student who requires specific accommodations is looked at and routed individually. Once a transportation request for special needs transportation is received, you will be contacted with the route information and start date for your student.