Transportation

ICS students come from nearly every zip code in Philadelphia.

The School District of Philadelphia provides school bus service to ICS students in 1st-6th grades who live more than 1.5 miles from the school.

The District also provides weekly SEPTA Transpasses to 7th-8th grade students who live more than 1.5 miles from the school. All other families must provide their own transportation to/from ICS. The District does not provide bus service for kindergarten students.

All students must submit Transportation/Dismissal forms before the start of every school year (due in May of the previous school year). This ensures that our staff members know every child’s dismissal plan and that children who are eligible for bus service receive a bus stop/route assignment. Students who will be riding the school bus must sign a school bus behavior agreement each year.

District Flat Rate Program

In response to bus driver shortages, the District’s Office of Transportation is increasing the payment to eligible families who choose to enroll in the Flat Rate Program. All eligible families will now receive $300 per month ($3,000 for the school year) for transporting their children to and from school. Families also now have the option to receive $150 per month ($1,500 for the school year) for transporting their children to school in the morning only, but still utilizing bus or cab service in the afternoon. Schools should share this Google Form with families interested in enrolling in either of these options.

Additional information about steps the District is taking to respond to transportation and operations issues can be found HERE.

Please note that…

Students who will be 1st-6th graders and live more than 1.5 from ICS can request school bus service OR a student transpass to travel with an older sibling if they have a 7th or 8th grade sibling using a transpass.
Eligible 7th-8th graders will receive free weekly student transpasses. (The Philadelphia School District does not provide bussing after the 6th grade.) Students have completed the request for a transpass in school.
Students must live at least 1.5 miles away from ICS for bus service or free weekly student transpasses to be approved.
NO bus service will be provided without a signed Bus Behavior Policy form.
Even if you are not requesting school bus service, you must return a completed dismissal plan for EACH student.

Changes to Your Child’s Dismissal Plan

Every child must have a current dismissal plan on file with our Transportation office. If you need to make a permanent dismissal change at any time, please email our Transportation Desk.
If your child normally rides the school bus and you do not want your child to get on the bus, you must be waiting at the ramp at the corner of 16th & Lombard by 3:00pm in order to sign your child out of the bus line. You may not use the driver pickup lane for your car.
If your child normally attends an aftercare program and you want to pick up your child before they leave for the program, you must arrive by 3:00pm to sign in at the front office and then sign your child out in the cafeteria. You may not use the driver pickup lane for your car.
For the children’s safety, we do not accept daily changes to your child’s plan, except in the case of true emergencies, which should occur about one time per family per year. One-time, emergency changes to dismissal must be made through the front office by calling 215-238-8000, x2221.

Change of Address

If your family moves, you must submit a change of address form and proof of the new address in order to receive ICS mail at your new address and to receive bus service.

Change of Address Form

Cambio de dirección

Contact Student Records at x2500 with any questions.

Aftercare

ICS does not offer an in-house aftercare program, but many neighborhood organizations offer afterschool pickup at ICS. You can view the current list of programs here:

Afterschool Pickup Programs

Please note that some programs can only offer services if a minimum number of ICS families enroll in a given trimester.

School Bus Service

Please read our Transportation FAQs if you are the parent of a student who rides the school bus.

The District contracts Durham School Services to provide transportation to all students who sign up for bus service. Families receive their bus stop assignments and pickup times directly from the District by mail in mid-to-late August.

For real-time information on your child’s bus’s status or location during the school year, you must always contact Durham School Services.

Durham School Services: 215-537-5405, select the option for “Dispatch”

District Transportation Office: 215-400-4350

Contact the Transportation Desk

You can contact the ICS Transportation Desk for non-urgent questions or changes regarding your child’s bus route or to report problems with a bus route. Emails will be checked once daily and responded to by the end of the next school day.

Email the Transportation Desk

Urgent issues should be directed to the front office at x2221.