Transportation for School Choice Programs
HISD’s Transportation Department plays a critical role in ensuring equitable access to high-quality education by removing barriers to learning and by providing students with reliable transportation. Every day, the department safely transports thousands of students to and from school, helping to ensure that distance is never an obstacle to opportunity. This commitment reflects the District’s broader mission to create a student-centered learning environment for all.
For the 2026–2027 school year, HISD will offer transportation services to students attending a school of choice who meet the following criteria:
- Live at least two miles from their school and have one of the following transfer codes assigned by the Office of School Choice:
- Boundary Option
- Capped School
- Career and Technology
- Homeless
- Language of Instruction
- IB, Magnet
- Military Academy
Bus stops for eligible students may be three miles or more from the student’s home address. Parents/guardians are responsible for ensuring their students have a safe way to access the bus stop.
Transportation is not provided to students with Space Available, Dual Language, or Hardship transfer codes. HISD does not transport Pre-K 3 or Pre-K 4 students, regardless of transfer code, unless the student has an IEP/504 plan and receives transportation as a related service.
HISD has ongoing goals to limit transport time for students attending schools of choice. Bus stops for routes that serve schools of choice will likely be placed at HISD schools, and not every home to bus walking path will be safe for every student. For this reason, each family of a student attending a school of choice must be prepared to ensure their student is able to safely and reliably access their bus stop. While some families may be able to utilize a bus stop that is within safe walking distance from their home, most families should expect that their students will need to access their stop via car. Stops may be further than three miles from a home in order to decrease transport time, and parents may be given some choice in selecting a stop that works best for them. See the example scenarios below for more details.