Bus Privilege Registration 2020-2021

All students who wish to use bus transportation are REQUIRED to be registered each year, regardless of whether fees apply. (This includes families who have reached the family cap.)

Students that attend private schools in Shrewsbury or Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School must go here for more information and to register online.

Students that attend Shrewsbury Public Schools can register using their Powerschool Parent Portal account. Please read information BELOW.

We are opening school bus registration for the 2020-2021 school year with some adaptations for physical distancing based upon transportation guidance issued by the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education [MA DESE] which can be found on their school reopening resource page here.  Because of physical distancing, fewer students will be able to ride a bus at one time, as we are limited to one student per seat.  We are asking all families who wish to have their child ride the bus to and/or from school this year to register for the bus now so that we can determine how many students we will be able to accommodate beyond those who are mandated by law to be transported.  

It is important to note that the School Committee has voted to waive the bus fee for the first half of the school year due to uncertainty of the reopening plan and the uncertainty about the level of service our school district will actually be providing.  Later in the fall, the School Committee will revisit the topic of the bus fee for the second half of the school year.

Because of the circumstances of this coming school year, we are instituting a three-step process:

  1.  bus registration
  2.  determination of eligibility for bus transportation
  3.  assignment of bus routes

Step 1: Online Registration (to be completed now by families): 

ALL families who would like to have their child ride the bus to and/or from school for in-person learning must register your student(s) using the PowerSchool Parent Portal (instructions at the bottom of this message).  By registering, you are requesting bus transportation, but this is NOT confirmation that you will have a seat unless your student must be provided school transportation by law.

Step 2: School District Determines Eligibility

We are opening up registration now to assess ridership demand and we will subsequently allocate bus seating confirmations on a prioritized basis.  We will need to see how many families request services to determine how many students we can accommodate given the limited number of students that we may have on a bus at one time.  We will confirm whether your child has a reserved seat on a bus approximately two weeks prior to the district reopening for in-person education, which is expected to be sometime in mid-September.

The following priorities for seating on a bus are established as follows:

Group 1:  Students who must be offered bus transportation by law as well as Oak and SHS students who live two or more miles from their assigned school

We are required by law to transport students at no charge who:

  • are in Grades K-6 and live two or more miles for their assigned school (both public and private schools within Shrewsbury)
  • have specialized transportation as a service their Individualized Education Program [IEP]
  • attend Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School

Group 1 priority will also be given to students who attend Oak or SHS who live two or more miles from those schools.  While the bus fee is waived for these students through December, it is possible that a fee might be instituted for them beginning in January.

Group 2:  Students currently eligible for free or reduced price lunch and who do not fall into Group 1

Group 3:  All other students

In the event that demand exceeds capacity, then bus seats will be allocated to Group 3 students based on the following criteria:

  • Distance from home to school with preference to those living further away from their school
  • Verifiable hardships preventing school attendance
  • Date of bus registration

The Parent Portal is open for bus registration for the 2020-2021 school year.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact the transportation director.

Registration Procedure

(Go here for illustrated instructions for registration and the new online payment.)

STEP 1: Online Registration - The registration process begins with the online portion through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you cannot access your Parent Portal account, please email the registrar. 

STEP 3: Bus Stop Information - Parents/Guardians will obtain bus number and stop location information in late August by accessing the PowerSchool Parent Portal. No information will be sent to homes. The Transportation Department will communicate by email when the information is available in the Parent Portal.

Additional Information

  • Late Fee - A $50.00 per child late fee with $150.00 family cap will be incurred for late bus registrations and/or payment. PLEASE NOTE: Our transportation department begins the routing process immediately following the conclusion of the registration time frame. Therefore students will NOT be guaranteed bus privileges for the first few weeks of school unless BOTH registration and payment are received at the school department office on or before June 30th at 4:30 p.m. or postmarked by the deadline on June 30. This is absolutely necessary to: allow for internal processing and adequate time for our transportation contractor to plan routes, check route timing, train the drivers, and to evaluate the ridership capacity to ensure the safety and comfort of all students transported.
  • Free and Reduced Lunch Qualifications -  Students who have qualified for free and reduced lunch are entitled to free transportation provided that an application for qualification has been submitted and approved each year. Go to this link for details.
  • Refund Policy - Refunds will be issued if the refund request is received by 4:30 pm on August 29, 2019. A processing fee of $25 per student will be deducted from the refund request. However, if there is a question regarding your need for transportation for the upcoming year, you are encouraged to apply and send in payment to avoid the late fee. The Business Office will individually consider all refund requests. Having all registration information before the routing is arranged is extremely beneficial for our contractor to ensure efficiency and safety for all of our students.

Please refer to the Transportation Policies and Procedures document and the FAQ document under the left navigation/section menu. Many updates and changes have been instituted. General questions can be sent via email.

This site provides information using PDF, visit this link to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software.