Bill > HB545

This bill enacts the School Busing Improvement Act to modify how Ohio school districts receive transportation funding and manage student transportation services. For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the bill introduces a new formula for calculating transportation payments to school districts based on "qualifying ridership," which includes students in public, community, STEM, and nonpublic schools. The bill establishes an efficiency adjustment mechanism that rewards districts with higher rider density per bus, with districts achieving 1.5 or more riders per assigned bus potentially receiving up to 15% additional transportation funding. The legislation also creates a new bus purchasing grant program that will distribute at least $45,000 to city, local, and exempted village school districts to replace older, high-mileage buses. Additionally, the bill modifies transportation requirements for community and nonpublic schools, including new provisions about school start and end times that could impact a district's transportation obligations. The bill includes budget adjustments to support these changes, such as increasing appropriations for pupil transportation and creating a new School Bus Purchase Fund with a $50 million transfer from the General Revenue Fund in fiscal year 2027.

Education

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb545