In short
The Department of Education’s School Transport Office provides transport to eligible students, and does so in different ways depending on the programme and the needs. The regular kind works through stops in the sectors of the towns. The individualised kind is something else: it is arranged according to the student’s need and may include collecting them at home and taking them to school, a centre or a place of therapy. To determine eligibility, the Department states that the student’s distance from their school and the household’s current income are taken into account. How to apply is not published on that page, so the errand starts at the school and the regional office.
What is it?
It is the transport service the Department of Education provides to eligible public system students. The Department itself explains that transport is provided in different ways depending on the programme and the needs, and describes two: the regular kind, which students receive through stops in the sectors of the towns; and the individualised kind, which is detailed and tailored to the student’s need, and may include collecting the student at home to take them to school, a centre or a place of therapy.
Who can do it?
The Department states that the student’s distance from their school and the household’s current income are taken into account. It does not publish a minimum distance or an income limit on that page, so this guide gives no figure: those are the two criteria the agency names, and the thresholds are confirmed at the school or the regional office. The form of service also depends on the programme and the student’s needs, which is what separates regular from individualised transport.
Requirements
- Being an eligible student. The Department states that the student’s distance from their school and the household’s current income are taken into account.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Decide which of the two you are asking for
They are not the same request. The regular kind is the one with stops in the town’s sectors, and it works if the student can reach a stop and use it. The individualised kind is arranged according to the student’s need, and the Department expressly says it may include collecting them at home and taking them to school, a centre or a place of therapy. If your child cannot use a stop, ask for the individualised one by name.
Step 2: Start at the school
The Department does not publish an application route, a form or a phone number on the School Transport Office page. The sensible move is to start at the student’s school and, if it is not resolved there, at the regional education office. The Department’s general directory is at de.pr.gov/directorio.
Step 3: Bring the two facts the agency names
The distance between your home and the school, and the household’s current income. Those are the two criteria the Department says are taken into account. It publishes no thresholds, so do not disqualify yourself: ask with the numbers in hand.
Step 4: If it is for a therapy, say so
The description of individualised transport expressly mentions the place of therapy as a possible destination, alongside the school and the centre. If the trip you need is to a therapy, that word is in the service’s own definition and it is worth using when you ask.
Where to do it
The Department does not publish a filing office, a form or a phone number on the School Transport Office page. Start at the student’s school and the corresponding regional education office; the Department of Education’s general directory is at de.pr.gov/directorio.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If you were told there is no route that suits your child, that answer addresses regular transport, not the individualised kind: ask expressly for the individualised one, which the Department describes as detailed and tailored to the student’s need. If the student is in special education and transport to a therapy is contemplated in their Individualised Education Programme, there is also a separate mechanism — the Provisional Remedy — for IEP services the Department cannot provide, and it has its own guide here. This guide states no application route, required documents, minimum distance, income limit, duration or cost, because the Department publishes none of that on that page; all of it is asked at the school or the regional office. PRFácil does not process transport requests and does not coordinate routes.
Common mistakes
- Accepting a “there is no route” without asking about individualised transport.
- Not mentioning that the destination is a place of therapy, which the service’s own definition contemplates.
- Ruling yourself out on distance or income without asking, when the Department publishes no thresholds.
- Looking for the application on the Office’s page instead of starting at the school and the region.
- Confusing it with the special education Provisional Remedy, which is a different mechanism.
Frequently asked questions
Can they collect my child at home?
The Department describes individualised transport as individualised and detailed according to the student’s need, and says it may include collecting the student at home and taking them to school, a centre or a place of therapy.
What determines whether my child is eligible?
The Department states that the student’s distance from their school and the household’s current income are taken into account. It publishes no minimum distance or income limit, so this guide gives no figures; ask at the school.
Where do I apply?
The Department does not publish an application route on the School Transport Office page. The sensible approach is to start at the student’s school and, from there, the regional education office.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico
Educación
de.pr.gov
- Department of Education — directory
Departamento de Educación
de.pr.gov
Last verified
August 14, 2026
MiPRFácil is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Government of Puerto Rico or any government agency.
MiPRFácil does not submit applications on your behalf.
Was this guide helpful?
Did you find out-of-date information?
How to enroll a student in public school in Puerto Rico
Online enrollment, the seven regional offices with their email addresses, and who to ask about documents.
Special education: the complaint and the Provisional Remedy
If the Department cannot provide a service that is in the IEP, the Provisional Remedy lets you contract it. And complaints go to a centralised unit.
How to request the removable disability parking placard
The three 2×2 photos and forms DTOP-DISC-375 and DTOP-DISC-010, one of them medical.