District school officials have launched a portal that allows parents of eligible children to put in their drop-off and pick-up addresses and decide what type of transit to use.

Parents of kids with individualized education programs (IEPs) that include transportation accommodations are eligible to submit their information to the portal, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education said on its website.

More than 5,000 District students are eligible for transportation, OSSE told WTOP-FM. The portal will go into effect for the 2025-2026 school year.

Once parents put in the pick-up and drop-off addresses and the name of their child’s school, they can then choose a transportation option. OSSE said on X that parents have to pick a transportation method for their child by July 11.

The options are not using OSSE transportation services, getting a $400 monthly stipend to use towards transportation or sending their child to school on an OSSE bus or other OSSE vehicle, the agency said.

Previously, parents had to contact their child’s school in order to provide the pick-up and drop-off addresses.

“It’s really important to go to the source, which is the parent, as opposed to going through a mediator [who] may not have gotten the address just right from what they have heard over the phone or what they saw on an enrollment form,” OSSE Chief Information Officer Stephanie Davis told WTOP-FM.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.