ISLA Transportation 

ISLA transportation is provided for a fee to families within our Transportation Boundaries defined below. Families who opt to ride the bus will be billed by the school as close to the beginning of the year as possible. Monthly payments or lump sum payments will be available. Busing is free for a variety of situations, please check below to see if your student receives free busing. Scholarships are also available - see the scholarship section below.

ISLA’s 2022-2023 school day begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 3:50 p.m. Buses aim to arrive at ISLA by 8:45 am and buses aim to depart from ISLA at 4:00 pm.

ISLA will provide bus service via Pride Transportation Company. ISLA will notify families of their stops and approximate time of pick-up and drop-off about 2 weeks before school starts. All stops within our boundaries will be neighborhood stops, meaning within walking distance and generally within a couple of blocks from the resident student’s home.  

If your student's bus is running late, you may check the parent app (details will be sent closer to the start of the school year).

The ISLA Transportation Boundary is shown in red shading below and includes students who live east and north of 494, west of 35W/94, and south of 55. All of the Edina district, shown with green shading, is included by this boundary. The Hopkins School District is shown in blue. The portions of the Hopkins School District that are outside of the red ISLA Boundary only receive busing for resident Legacy Riders (defined below).

Families of students who will not ride the bus will provide their own transportation to ISLA and will not be charged the busing fee.

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• 2022-2023 Busing Zone: (Please note that 2023-2024 busing may vary)

The 2022-2023 fee for bus riders is $450.00 per student for the year with a maximum household rate of $900.00 per year. This is a flat rate regardless of whether

• the rider lives within the ISLA Transportation Boundary or is privately transported to an established stop
• the rider rides to/from different stops on different days
• the student rides to school only, from school only, or to and from school. 

Note: For your planning purposes, we anticipate a 20-30% increase in these fees over the next 2-3 school years. 

Free Busing Options

Edina In-district Residents

As Edina is the public-school district within which ISLA is located, all ISLA students who reside in the Edina School District 2 miles or farther from the ISLA school location are eligible for free bus transportation. 

Students who reside within 2 miles of the school’s location are eligible for fee-based bus transportation at the per student rate. The distance between a student’s home and the school will be measured by putting both the student’s address and the school address into Google maps and taking the shortest distance of routes returned.

Drive to an Established Edina District Stop Option

Any ISLA student who is privately transported to an established ISLA bus stop within the Edina School District is eligible for free bus transportation from that bus stop to the school. 

Any ISLA student who is privately transported to an established ISLA bus stop that is outside of the Edina School District is eligible for fee-based bus transportation at the per student rate.

Students who Qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch

Any ISLA student who has an approved application for the current year to receive free or reduced lunch is eligible for free bus transportation from within the ISLA Transportation Boundary. If the student lives outside of this boundary, they must be privately transported to an established bus stop. In this case, the student may qualify for some mileage reimbursement for the miles from the student’s home to the bus stop (see below).

Students with Special Education Related Services

Students with disabilities, who have transportation listed as a related service on the Individualized Education Program (IEP) will be transported per the student’s IEP.

Legacy Riders

ISLA students who rode the bus in the 2019-2020 and/or 2020-2021 school years are Legacy Riders. Legacy Riders who reside within the Hopkins School District qualify for free busing from a neighborhood bus stop. Legacy Riders who reside outside of the Hopkins School District must be privately transported to an established Hopkins or Edina bus stop to qualify for free busing.

Siblings of Legacy Riders who were not enrolled at ISLA during the 2020-2021 school year are not Legacy Riders and are eligible for fee-based bus transportation. Younger siblings of Legacy Riders who live outside the ISLA Transportation Boundary and within the Hopkins district will be permitted to use their older siblings’ Hopkins District neighborhood bus stop while such older sibling remains an ISLA student riding the bus, but after the older sibling is no longer enrolled at ISLA, the younger sibling’s fee-based busing would be from a stop within the New Transportation Boundary.

Additional Financial Assistance

Mileage Reimbursement Program

Any ISLA student who qualifies as a member of a low-income family, does not live within the ISLA Transportation Boundary, and is privately transported to an established bus stop may qualify for some mileage reimbursement for the miles from the student’s home to the established bus stop. Please contact the school for more information.

Transportation Scholarships

The caregiver of any ISLA student may apply for a transportation scholarship. The scholarship is not based on income. Scholarships will depend on available financing from the school and/or fundraising and will be applied toward the busing fee. If the student does not live within the ISLA Transportation Boundary, the student must be privately transported to an established ISLA bus stop. Use this form to request a transportation scholarship: https://forms.gle/H5S31Ss6QuF4WjPJ8

Bus Behavior

Our 6th grade students are encouraged to assist our younger students on the bus. In the event that a student is acting in an inappropriate manner, the incident is reported by the bus driver to our dean of students, who will take necessary and timely action. If your child reports a problem to you, there are several steps you can take. If the problem affects the safety and well-being of others, it should be reported to the dean of students immediately by the student or parent. Otherwise, first help your child brainstorm ideas for handling the problem and offer lots of encouragement to try these ideas. If appropriate for your child’s personality, encourage them to talk to the driver about the situation. Finally, you may call the dean of students, and she will work with the appropriate parties to resolve the issue. 

Please remember - bus transportation is a privilege, not a right. The privilege will be withdrawn for inappropriate behavior. 

Rules for good behavior on the bus are:

• Enter and leave the bus in an orderly manner.
• Remain seated until the bus stops.
• Keep hands, feet, and other body parts to yourself.
• Use quiet voices and speak respectfully.
• Follow the directions of the bus driver.

Students are required to ride to/from their assigned bus stop. If a student needs to ride a different route or get off at a different bus stop, the family must notify the school and the change must be approved by administration. If a child is riding home with a friend, the friend’s parent must also notify the school of their agreement to the student getting off the bus with their child. 

Transportation FAQ

Why will transportation costs go up after this year?
Transportation costs are significant. The actual cost to ISLA after state subsidies are subtracted is closer to $850-$900 per rider. The ISLA finance committee has created a strategy to address this need. Over the next 2-3 years, we anticipate an increase of 20 to 30% per year in order to make up this shortfall.

How was the transportation boundary drawn?
The ISLA Transportation Boundary was drawn when ISLA moved to Edina in 2021. ISLA was previously in the boundaries of the Hopkins school district. It was based on the geographical dispersal of ISLA students, to be more central to the Edina school building location, and to align with natural traffic barriers (i.e. highways). The boundary will be revisited over time to reflect changes in the geographical dispersal of the future student body.

What prompted legacy ridership?
Hopkins was the resident school district for ISLA from its founding until 2021. Many families residing in the Hopkins district chose to continue at ISLA with the expectation that their children would receive free busing. Therefore, it is ISLA’s intent that each Legacy Rider will continue to be eligible for free busing for the remainder of such student’s years at ISLA, so long as ISLA is able to secure student transportation services in future years at a cost substantially similar to its 2021-2022 busing costs. 

If you have additional questions, please email transportation@isla.school.

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