Guide

McKinney-Vento Transportation in Massachusetts

When a family loses its housing, federal law lets the children keep attending the school they were in, and the school district has to get them there. Those trips are called McKinney-Vento transportation, after the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. They are a growing share of school transportation work in Massachusetts, and they run very differently from a regular bus route.

What the law requires

At the request of a parent or guardian, or of the district's homeless liaison for an unaccompanied youth, districts must provide transportation to and from the student's school of origin: the school the student attended when permanently housed, or the school where the student was last enrolled, including a preschool (42 U.S.C. § 11432).

If the student still lives in the district where that school is, that district provides or arranges the transportation. If the student now lives in another district, the two districts must agree how to split the responsibility and cost, and if they can't agree, they share it equally. Homeless students must also get transportation services comparable to other students'.

Foster care rides often come with it

A separate federal rule covers children in foster care. Each district must have written procedures, agreed with the child welfare agency, for transporting children in foster care to their school of origin when that is in their best interest, and for who pays any added cost: the agency, the district, or both (20 U.S.C. § 6312).

Districts often buy the two together. In 2026, Boston Public Schools solicited "Private Transportation Services for McKinney Vento and Foster Students" on BidNet Direct, with bids due August 12.

What Massachusetts districts spend

DESE reimburses part of districts' McKinney-Vento transportation costs. Its reimbursement file for fiscal year 2025 lists $46.9 million in McKinney-Vento transportation entitlements for 221 districts, up from $19.2 million for 212 districts in fiscal 2021. DESE paid $28.7 million of the fiscal 2025 total, about 61%, compared with about 70% in fiscal 2021, so districts are carrying a larger share of a growing cost.

The largest fiscal 2025 reimbursements went to Boston ($4.36 million), Brockton ($1.26 million), Fall River ($1.21 million), Springfield ($1.09 million) and Lynn ($1.02 million). Each RouteReady district page shows that district's figure alongside what it reports spending on transportation overall.

How these trips differ from a regular route

McKinney-Vento rides are usually one student or a few, not a busload, so they suit smaller vehicles. Service may need to start soon after a family asks for it, a student's address can change mid-year when the family moves again, and the trip can cross district lines, sometimes a long way, when a family is placed in a shelter or motel in another town.

That makes the work less predictable than a fixed route: trips start and stop during the year, and the miles per trip vary. Operators who do it well have spare vehicles and drivers, and clear pricing for trips that change.

What to check in a McKinney-Vento bid

Read these terms closely, because they decide whether the work pays:

How you are paid: per trip, per mile, per hour or per day, and whether waiting time and empty miles count.
How quickly you must start service after a request, and how requests and cancellations reach you.
Where you may be sent: within the district only, or anywhere a student is placed.
Driver and vehicle requirements, such as 7D certification and background checks, which apply as on any pupil transportation contract.
How student information is shared with you and how you must protect it. A family's housing situation is sensitive.

Where these bids show up

Some districts bid McKinney-Vento and foster care transportation on their own, as Boston did; others fold it into special education or out-of-district transportation bids. Either way, the same Chapter 30B notice rules apply as for any other contract, so the places to look are the same. RouteReady tracks McKinney-Vento transportation as its own service, so you can choose it when you set up your alerts.

Sources

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