Bus Transportation

for the 2024-25 school year

We’ll be sharing more information here soon regarding bus transportation for the 2024-25 school year. Stay tuned for more information!



For the 2023-24 school year

Please review the information on this page and then complete a Bus Request Form if you are eligible to ride the bus. If you have questions regarding bus fees, or adding your student to a bus route, please call the District Registrar at (515) 457-5011.

  • 2023-24 UCSD Bus Request Form
  • Si desea ayuda para inscribir a su estudiante(s) en el transporte escolar, comuníquese con:
  • သင်၏ကျောင်းသား (များ) အားဘတ်စ် Bus ကားသယ်ယူပို့ဆောင်ရေးအတွက်လက်မှတ်ထိုးရန်အကူအညီလိုပါက ကျေးဇူးပြု၍ ဆက်သွယ်ပါ (Dar Lian @ 515-210-9141 , liand@urbandaleschools.com )
  • ဘတ်စ်ကားသယ်ယူပို့ဆောင်ရေးအတွက် သင့်ကလေး(များ)ကို စာရင်းသွင်းရာတွင် ကူညီလိုပါက ကျွန်မထံ ဆက်သွယ်ပါ- Ngun Vang 515-333-7424 vangn@urbandaleschools.com (Karen Acres, Olmsted, Valerius)
  • Nafa (fale)  sianginn Bus i cit ding in  fom phih bawmh na herh sual ahcun, zaangfahnak tein (Dar Lian @ 515-210-9141, liand@urbandleschools.com ah bawmh na hal khawh)


**IMPORTANT DATES**
To be on a route for the first day of school
, your request needs to be received no later than July 1st for Karen Acres and August 1st for all other schools.  We will be happy to add your student after the due date, but the bus stop locations will be set; thus, students may have to walk farther and possibly wait several days before they can begin riding the bus. (Note: Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, the year-round program will move to Karen Acres Elementary.)


TRANSPORTATION GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

  • ALL eligibility is determined by your home address, not where your child will be transported to or from.Bus Transportation Important Dates V2
  • It is possible to bus to and from an address other than your home, but the address needs to be within the district, within the area school of attendance, and also within a bus area.
  • Addresses cannot be in a walk zone (see below) in order for busing to be provided.
  • The transportation must be the same every day. For example: the bus would go to and from the alternate (e.g. daycare) address every day or to your home address every day, but never changing between the two.
  • All Kindergarten and 1st grade students will need to have an authorized person to release the student to the bus driver and to receive the student at the bus stop in the afternoon.

 


Interactive School / Bus Zone Maps

2023 – 2024 School Year

 


 

Are you eligible to ride the bus for free?

  • All students in grades K-8 who live 2 miles or more from their school and all students in grades 9-12 who live 3 miles or more from the high school are eligible.
  • All Kindergarten students living outside of the designated walk zone for their particular school will be provided district transportation (busing) at no charge for their Kindergarten year. (See Walk Zone links above)
  • If you are considering Karen Acres for your student, you may be eligible for free transportation.  Please contact the Student Data Manager/Registrar to verify your eligibility (contact information below). (Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, the year-round program will move to Karen Acres Elementary.)

 

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE TO RIDE THE BUS FOR A FEE?

(Note: Payment required prior to being added to a route.)
All students who live outside the walk zone for their school (see Walk Zone links above),  but within the 2-mile OR 3-mile limit may be eligible to purchase a bus pass under the following conditions: (1) There is space on an existing route. (2) Students can be picked up at an existing stop within the school district boundaries.


 

PAYMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEES

  • If you live in an area where you are required to pay fees, ALL fees must be paid prior to your student being added to a route.
  • You may choose to pay by Semester. We do not send invoices for 2nd Semester – you will need to remember to submit a new bus request form and payment for 2nd Semester prior to winter break.
  • Transportation fees can be paid through the online registration program (as you register your student) or through the Administration Office. If paying with a check, please make checks payable to Urbandale Schools.
  • Fees for students receiving Free or Reduced Lunch, and having the Confidentiality Wavier on file, can also be paid through the online registration program (as you register your student) or through the Administration Office. If paying with a check, please make checks payable to Urbandale Schools. Without the Waiver, full payment of fees will be required prior to your student being added to a route.

 

Annual and Semester Bus Transportation Fees
Annual Pass 2-Way $392.00 Semester Pass 2-Way $206.00
Annual Pass 1-Way AM $196.00 Semester Pass 1-Way AM $103.00
Annual Pass 1-Way PM $196.00 Semester Pass 1-Way PM $103.00

**IMPORTANT**
To be on a route for the first day of school
, your request needs to be received no later than July 1st for Karen Acres and August 1st for all other schools.  We will be happy to add your student after the due date, but the bus stop locations will be set; thus, students may have to walk farther and possibly wait several days before they can begin riding the bus.


Refunds

Requests must be received by October 1 for 1st semester and February 1 for 2nd semester. Requests must be submitted in writing to registration@urbandaleschools.com


 

BUSING FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

  • Special Education students have the same busing rules as general education students unless their IEP specifies specially designed transportation service.
  • IEP teams (of which parents are included) determine if the nature and severity of the disability requires specially designed transportation
  • Open Enrollment (OE) rules apply for Special Education students too, and typically OE students are not eligible for any transportation services between school and home. (See Transportation Options For Open Enrolled Students directly below.)
  • Students with specially designed transportation may need to have an authorized parent meet them in the afternoon, depending on the nature of the disability and the age of the child.

 

TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS FOR OPEN ENROLLED STUDENTS

  • Open enrolled students do not qualify for busing. Parents are responsible for student’s transportation to school.
  • There may be an option for parents to purchase bus services within the Urbandale District. In this case, parents must provide transportation to an existing stop. The stop must be on a route that has space and serves the school the student is attending.
  • Transportation assistance for those who qualify according to income guidelines is available only between contiguous districts.

 

Bus Transportation Contacts

If you have questions regarding bus fees, or adding your student to a route, please contact the UCSD Administration Office. 

UCSD Contact
Student Data Manager/Registrar
Phone (515) 457-5011
Fax (515) 457-5018
registration@urbandaleschools.com
11152 Aurora Avenue
Urbandale, Iowa 50322


If you have questions or concerns regarding transportation please contact Durham Student Services.   

Durham Student Services Contact
Ashley Fitch
Phone: (515) 276-4407
afitch@durhamschoolservices.com