On August 9, 2017, the Lafayette Parish School Board voted to distinguish Gifted and English as a Second Language (ESL) transportation routing as equal to the standard in-zone stop walk policy. The Transportation Department has worked diligently with the Gifted and ESL departments to establish routes for approximately 1,500 students. The following stop walk distances are for in-zone transportation as well as out-of-zone Gifted and ESL transportation:

Elementary school students within .2 miles of home;
Middle school students within .4 miles of home; and
High school students within .6 miles of home.

Information regarding newly established bus routes for affected out-of-zone Gifted and ESL elementary school students were distributed earlier today. The Transportation Department is completing pairing drivers with routes for affected middle school Gifted students, and will send home information on Monday, August 28. Parents will receive PACE calls from principals of the Gifted and ESL middle schools explaining the update for Monday. The new routes, scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 30, will include elementary and middle school students. According to Superintendent Aguillard, “We have received indications that not all high school Gifted students marked for ridership actually need transportation services, and we have begun surveying these students to determine the most accurate needs analysis.” The Gifted and Transportation Departments both anticipate a deadline for surveying as September 1, upon which routes will be scheduled for only those requesting bus service.

The new routes adhere to the LPSS “School Bus Scheduling and Routing Policy,” which states that bus transportation will be provided for all students living more than one mile from their home zone school. LPSS is not obligated to provide out-of-zone stop walk transportation if the services a student receives through the Gifted or ESL programs are also offered at their home zone school. Parents can contact their student’s respective IEP committee, or the ESL department for more information.

As a reminder, route information can be accessed by visiting www.lpssonline.com/busstops. E-link is regularly updated to reflect bus numbers, pick-up/drop-off times, and stop locations. Parents with questions regarding their student’s specific transportation services should contact their respective school. For issues accessing e-Link, parents should contact the Transportation Department at 337- 521-RIDE (7433).