FAQ

All students in grades K-12 who wish to ride the bus must register for a school bus pass. We use MySchoolBucks to process registration and payments.

Under Newton Public Schools/School Committee Policy, all students in Grades K-6 who reside less than 2.0 miles from their school must pay a user fee for transportation. Students in grades 7-12 must pay the fee regardless of distance. All families may apply for financial assistance. Find your distance from your school here:

City of Newton GIS Database - Find Your Distance from School

Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 68, students in grades K-6 who reside more than 2.0 miles walking distance to their neighborhood school are entitled to free transportation. Special education transportation services are separate from regular bus transportation and are not affected.

An application must be filed if your child is in Grades K-12 and plans to receive bus transportation. All students riding the bus must purchase/acquire a bus pass including those students who reside greater than 2 miles from school.

The bus fee for the 2023-24 school year is $400 per student with a family maximum of $800. After February 1st, the bus fee is one-half the regular price. Students in grades K-6 do not pay a fee if they reside greater than 2.0 miles from their neighborhood school.

Payments are made through the MySchoolBucks.. 

You may choose to pay the bus fee in one full payment or in four installments. Payments are made through the MySchoolBucks.

It is the intention of Newton Public Schools that no student should be excluded due to the inability to pay. Families may apply for a CONFIDENTIAL fee waiver based on financial hardship so that no student is denied bus transportation. All applicants seeking a waiver must submit an application for financial assistance which is available from the Transportation Office or on-line in Aspen. For additional information, visit the Financial Assistance and Waiver page.

Bus passes will be posted in the Aspen Parent Portal. You should download the pass from the documents section in your student's Aspen profile.

Yes. All students should have their passes with them every school day. Please note that each school has an up-to-date list of students who have been issued bus passes. This list will confirm a student’s eligibility to ride. Abuse of the bus pass system or violation of the school system’s rules of behavior will result in disciplinary action including suspension of transportation privileges and forfeiture of fees.

Passes will be checked regularly at all schools so that the bus driver can concentrate on safe driving practices and timely adherence to the bus routes. In addition to checking passes, school officials monitor student eligibility by reviewing regular updates of the student bus pass database. Abuse of the bus pass system or violation of the school system’s rules of behavior will result in disciplinary action including suspension of transportation privileges and forfeiture of fees. Parents will be notified by the school.

It is measured by using the shortest walking route from the public way in front of a student’s home to the nearest entrance way of the school. The City of Newton’s Geographic Information System has calculated these distances.

City of Newton GIS Database - Find Your Distance from School

You can follow the link below to the City of Newton Geographic Information System:

City of Newton GIS to Determine Distance from School

The distance will be re-measured allowing a .05 mile (264 ft.) leeway. Your fee will be returned if the walking distance is more than 2.0 miles for grades K-6.

The bus routes will be set with reasonable revisions based on the number of applications and space availability. 

Requests will be considered on a space available basis.

Yes. This should be noted in the registration with the names and addresses of more than one parent or guardian.

The policy allows periodic use of buses for guests as long as space is available and with the school’s permission.

Kindergarten and 1st graders students will be dropped off at their assigned bus stops. If a parent or guardian is not at the bus stop to meet the kindergartner, the driver will radio the dispatcher and keep the child on the bus. After the last stop on the route, the driver will return to the student’s bus stop and then to school if the parent or guardian is still not there. Repeated occurrences will result in the forfeiture of transportation privileges.

Yes. According to Massachusetts General Laws, students who attend private schools in Newton are eligible for bus transportation. All private school students in grades K-12 must register for the bus.

The same policy applies to the bus fee for private school students and public school students. If a student in grades K-6 resides further than 2.0 miles from the school, no fee is charged. If a student in grades K-6 resides less than 2.0 miles, the fee is charged. All students in grades 7-12 pay the bus fee, regardless of distance.

Although the bus company is not responsible for items left on the bus, they do have a lost and found and try to return as much as possible to the rightful owner. The number for lost and found is 617-942-7305.