HOUSTON — Due to budget cuts, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD eliminated bus service for students who live one and two miles away from their zoned campuses. The changes impact approximately 33,000 students in Texas' third-largest school district. Those students who do not have bus service are considered to be in a "walk zone."
On Reddit, parents are asking how common it is for school districts in the Houston area to have a transportation policy that calls for students to walk to their zoned school.
THE QUESTION
Do all public school districts in our area have walk zones?
THE SOURCES
Texas Education Agency
Texas Education Code
Aldine ISD
Alief ISD
Channelview ISD
Conroe ISD
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
Clear Creek ISD
Crosby ISD
Fort Bend ISD
Pasadena ISD
Pearland ISD
Houston ISD
Katy ISD
Klein ISD
Spring Branch ISD
THE ANSWER
No, bus service is offered to all students in some school districts in our area.
WHAT WE FOUND
The KHOU 11 Verify Team checked with several school districts across the area about their transportation policies regarding bus routes. Of the 15 districts that responded, most have a policy that coincides with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) transportation budget allotment rules.
As outlined in the Texas Education Code, a student who "...resides two or more miles from the student's campus of regular attendance..." meets the eligibility requirement for bus service.
Every school district or county operating a transportation system for students is entitled to some state funding for the costs associated with the operation. The state education code also spells out those transportation systems can receive additional funding of up to 10 percent of its regular transportation allotment for services where it is deemed too dangerous for kids to walk or bike to school.
School districts have to identify where conditions are too hazardous for students. In the state education code, some of these dangerous conditions are areas where kids will have to walk through high crime areas, cross or walk along tollways, freeways and areas without a clear path to walk.
The KHOU 11 Verify Team found several school districts have their own rules for bus service, while also maintaining walk zones.
Three school districts in the Houston area that returned our messages about transportation service said they transport all of their students to all campuses.
For the 2024-2025 school year, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (CFISD) has tips for students walking and biking to school. You can read the district's letter from the CFISD Chief of Police to parents here.