CCSD boosts internal ‘school choice’ option with novel perk: $1,000 to drive your kids to school

Parents who drive their kids to and from school could receive $1,000 this school year, thanks to a new pilot program from the Clark County School District.

There are a few catches, of course.

The program is only for the parents or guardians of CCSD students who are zoned for a one-star school but attending a three-, four- or five-star school through the district’s open enrollment policy.

Formerly known as a “change of school assignment” (COSA), open enrollment allows CCSD parents to apply to send their children to other district schools that have open and available space. Open enrollment is available to all students, but students zoned for one- or two-star schools receive priority when seats at the requested school are limited.

Students attending their school through open enrollment are not eligible for bus service, so families must provide transportation for their child. Families who opt to leave CCSD for a charter school typically face the same dilemma, as most charter schools still do not offer transportation.

CCSD publicly announced the transportation reimbursement pilot program last month ahead of the new school year, which begins Monday.

In an FAQ section on the transportation reimbursement program, CCSD highlights that a charter school student who is zoned for a one-star CCSD school would be eligible for the money if they returned to the district and used open enrollment to attend a higher rated school.

Likewise, a student who is currently homeschooled but zoned for a one-star CCSD school would be eligible if they enrolled in the district and used open enrollment to attend a higher rated school.

CCSD denied the Nevada Current’s request for an interview and instead provided a brief, pre-recorded video of CCSD Chief Academic Officer Gia Moore discussing the program.

In it, Moore acknowledged parents’ desire for district options beyond their neighborhood zoned school.

“Our families that are accessing our open enrollment choice options, they select those schools for a number of reasons,” she said. “Some of it might be that they want to attend a higher star rating school, but a lot of it is driven by personal reasons.”

Moore said the most important aspect of the transportation reimbursement program is that it “really helps support our families in trying to access our school choice options.”

The reimbursement program comes as CCSD enrollment declines, non-district charter school enrollment is on the rise, and a federal voucher program may provide a boon to private and homeschool programs. The Las Vegas Review-Journal  in an analysis earlier this year found that the greatest enrollment drops in elementary schools have been concentrated in some of the county’s poorest ZIP codes. The district has acknowledged it is exploring the possibility of consolidating or closing schools because of the decline.

State lawmakers established the transportation reimbursement program in a bipartisan bill passed last year. Funding was provided for just one academic year. That means there will be no funding available for the 2027-28 school year – unless the Nevada State Legislature opts to fund it when it meets for the 2027 regular session.

Program specifics

To determine eligibility, the program will use school ratings from the 2024-25 school year, which are publicly available on NevadaReportCard.NV.gov.

Students cannot miss more than 10 school days in one semester. Ten absences, excused or unexcused, is the threshold for what is considered chronic absenteeism – an issue the district has been focused on curbing.

Parents interested in the program must apply by filling out an online form. The form notes that parents will need to attest at the end of the semester that they had financial hardship due to transporting my student to and from school.

If approved, parents will receive up to $1,000 for their transportation costs – $500 at the end of each semester.

The deadline to apply for open enrollment for the current school year is Aug. 21, and the deadline to apply for the transportation reimbursement program is Sept. 4.

Students who drive themselves to school, or those who have another adult besides their parents drive them to school, will be eligible for transportation reimbursements. In all cases where families are eligible, the parents or guardians identified in Infinite Campus will receive the checks.

Students enrolled in magnet schools are not eligible to receive reimbursements.

According to CCSD, the amount of money families will receive depends on the distance they must travel to their school. Families who transport their students to school 41 miles or more one-way are expected to receive more than families who transport their students 40 miles or less.

Funds also depend on the number of families eligible for the program. CCSD projects that 6,000 families will receive funds.

Families with multiple children attending different open enrollment schools – for example, if a household has both an elementary and middle school student – may be eligible to receive the transportation money for each school they transport to. But the district has not yet determined those amounts, according to its website.

Additional details are available on CCSD’s website.