A senior in a small city wants to take a job at a hardware store across town. The bus runs every forty minutes. His IEP says "transportation: yes," which has always meant a school bus. No one has asked how he will get to work when school ends.
Getting somewhere is a skill, and for many students it decides whether a job or a class is within reach. The IEP can address transportation in two quite different ways, and families often hear only one. This guide explains both, describes what travel training involves, and offers goal examples. It is general information, not legal advice, and local services vary.
Two different things
| Transportation as a related service | Travel training | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Getting the student to school and around | Teaching the student to travel independently |
| Federal definition | Section 300.34 covers travel to and from school, between schools, and within school buildings, including specialized equipment such as adapted buses, lifts, and ramps when required | Not defined in the federal rule. Programs and states describe it |
| Written in the IEP | As a related service, when needed to benefit from special education | As a goal and a service in the transition section |
| Who does it | The school, often through a bus contract | Trained staff in a school, transit, or nonprofit program |
| Ends | When school ends | When the student can travel independently, if that is the goal |
Both can be needed. A student may ride a school bus now and learn to ride a city bus for use after graduation.
What travel training is
NASET, the National Association of Special Education Teachers, describes travel training as brief, intensive, one-on-one instruction that teaches students with disabilities to ride public transportation safely and independently. It says specially trained staff tailor strategies to each student's disability, that students learn a route, usually to school or a job, and are taught the safest, most direct way to travel, and that training has two forms.
- Destination training: travel to one regular location, often daily.
- General training: broader use of buses and other transit, including choosing destinations and reading schedules.
NASET adds that students with visual impairments typically receive instruction from orientation and mobility specialists instead.
Skills involved
The NASET page lists skills a student needs before traveling alone and notes that students must perform them consistently before graduating.
| Skill | Examples |
|---|---|
| Awareness | Personal space, surroundings, recognizing danger and responding |
| Walking safely | Crossing streets, using crosswalks and signals |
| Using the vehicle | Boarding the correct bus, paying the fare, getting off at the right stop |
| Getting help | Asking a driver or a stranger, using a phone |
| Handling changes | A rerouted bus, a missed stop, a cancelled service |
| Planning | Choosing a route, reading a schedule |
NASET also says reading, telling time, and basic math help but are not required, which means many students can learn the route even if those skills are still developing.
Why it matters
NASET lists benefits: students gain independence and a wider range of safe places to go, public transit usually costs far less than contracted private transportation, and although training is costly upfront it can pay off over time. Those are the page's claims, and local costs and options differ. For a family, the main point is access: a job, a class, or a friend's house is easier to reach when the student can get there.
Writing a transportation goal
A postsecondary goal about transportation describes what the student will do after graduation. North Dakota's goal-writing page includes this example: after high school, a student will independently use the public transportation system to get to his place of employment. It is countable, it occurs after graduation, and it describes an outcome. See transition goals: a five-question test.
| Level | Example, invented |
|---|---|
| Postsecondary goal | After graduation, Omar will travel to work by bus without assistance |
| Annual goal | By the end of the year, given a bus pass and a route card, Omar will board the correct bus, ride to the stop near his work site, and get off at the correct stop, in four of five trips, with no more than one verbal prompt |
| Transition services | Travel training on the work route, a work experience at the same site, and practice with a phone for emergencies |
| Assessment basis | A family interview, an observation of a bus ride, and a skills checklist |
When public transit is not an option
In some places there is little transit. The setting after graduation should shape the goal. Options a team may write include walking a safe route, using a bike, using a ride service with support, or arranging transportation with a family member, a coworker, or a community provider. Local transit agencies can explain accessible services where they exist, and these usually have their own application steps. The goal can also be about planning: "will plan and schedule rides to work three days a week."
Practice at home
Families can build the same skills in everyday life.
- Ride together. Take the route with the student leading and you following.
- Narrate the steps out loud, then let the student do it.
- Practice what to do when something goes wrong. Role-play a missed stop.
- Use a phone. Show how to check a route app and how to call for help.
- Plan the route in advance. Write or draw the steps.
The school's community-based instruction can reinforce these skills in real settings.
Questions for the team
Transportation mix-ups
- Confusing the school bus with a goal. Independent travel is a separate skill.
- Training on a route the student will not use. Match the route to the job or school.
- Skipping safety skills. Crossing streets and handling surprises matter as much as the bus.
- Assuming transit exists. Check what is available where the student will be.
- Leaving out the family. Practice outside school speeds learning.
For the wider picture, see independent living goals in a transition IEP. Terms are in the glossary.