Frequently Asked Questions

You can find this information on our District website by using the Bus Lookup Tool to search 2024-25 bus route information.

Scholars that reside within the walk zone are not permitted to ride the bus. A walk zone is defined as one road mile from your home address to your child's school. 

Parents/guardians with students enrolled in the Choice Program are responsible for transportation to a school outside of the resident service area, as noted during the Choice enrollment process. Learn more.

Scholars are to be at the bus stop five (5) minutes prior to the bus arrival time.

Big buses leave the school seven (7) minutes after the bell rings. Special Education buses leave when they have all scholars aboard.

For a scholar that rides on a general education bus the driver will hand out time change notifications 48 hours prior to the change going into effect. 

For scholars on a Special Education bus, parents will receive an automated call or be called by the driver.

The Federal Way School District Transportation team determines bus stops following guidelines and laws pertinent to safety and hazardous conditions in compliance with Washington Administrative Codes, and Revised Codes of Washington (RCM).  Students are required to use their assigned bus route stop.

Yes, permitting that the daycare is within the bussing area for the school.  However, our buses do not service daycares directly and the scholar may be required to walk to/from the bus stop location.

Scholars can have one pick up location and one take home location.  We do not provide transportation to different locations on different days of the week.

One exception is that scholars of dual parent households can register both parent households for pick-up and drop-off.

You can find this information by logging into ParentVUE and going to the “Student Info” tab.

Riding home with a friend on a temporary basis requires a written note from the parent and approval from the school office. Approval is not always possible due to some routes operating at full capacity.

For the 23-24 school year, we will not be accepting bus passes for temporary/single-time use due to the severe nationwide bus driver shortage.

Yes, a student could be suspended from bus service depending on their level of progressive discipline or if their actions violate the safety protocols which are set in place for their protection and the protection of others.

Some devices are too large to transport on a school bus. Students are expected to load/unload their instruments and keep them in their laps or between their legs during the entire bus ride. If this is not possible, students will be asked to make other arrangements to transport the instrument.

• Instruments Allowed on the School Bus
  • Alto saxophone
  • Clarinet
  • Flute
  • Trombone
  • Trumpet
  • Violin
• Instruments Not Allowed on the School Bus
  • Baritone horn
  • Bass viola
  • Cello
  • Drums
  • French horn
  • Tenor saxophone

You will need to contact your IEP case manager or school psychologist to submit a transportation request for Special Education transportation.

To apply for MKV you will need to contact the MKV liaison at your child’s school.

It can take up to five (5) school days once paperwork is received from the IEP case manager or MKV liaison.

It can take up to five (5) days once paperwork is received for any and all transportation changes as well.

After five (5) consecutive days the bus will stop going by for the scholar until the parent calls to resume service. After 21 days, the scholar is removed from the bus route.

Once the scholar has been removed from the route, the parent will need to contact the IEP case manager to submit a transportation request to resume. This could take up to five (5) school days to route. 

Special Education scholars can only be released after a parent has signed a release form. A new form needs to be signed each year.

We are a curb-to-curb district.  The school bus can only come to the door if the scholar is blind or in a wheelchair.

Scholars that qualify for McKinney Vento services are routed to General Ed bus stop locations.

Our third-party contractors send an invite app to all guardians/care-givers whose scholars use their service; this app allows the guardian/care-giver to look up their scholar’s information.

This service is called co-mingling and requires that the parent fill out a request form that can be obtained from their driver or by contacting the Transportation Department.  It is approved on a case-by-case basis and determined by space availability.  Special Education scholars have priority seating.