Overview of ORC 3327.021 Enforcement Process
The information below provides a high-level overview of pupil transportation enforcement requirements in Ohio law.
The Department investigates transportation-related complaints that are submitted using a Transportation Concern Form through the Department's Transportation Enforcement Management (TEM) platform.
The Department must investigate based on the complaint whether districts are “out of compliance.” The law specifies that this is based on these occurrences:
- Students transported to and from school by a school bus arrive more than 30 minutes late to school;
- Students transported to and from school by a school bus are picked up more than 30 minutes after the end of the school day;
- Students scheduled to be transported to and from school by a school bus are not transported by a school bus at all due to the failure of the bus to arrive;
- A school district has been noncompliant with any other pupil transportation requirements under Chapter 3327. of the Ohio Revised Code. Example: ORC 3327.01 requires that students be delivered “not sooner than thirty minutes prior to the beginning of school.”
“Out of compliance” is defined by reviewing whether any of the above occurrences happened on:
- Five consecutive school days, or
- Ten school days within a school year.
Any school day on which noncompliance occurs due to “inclement weather” is not counted toward the determination of noncompliance.
The Department collects and reviews the complaint information and the school district’s response and makes a compliance determination. This determination must be made within no more than 45 days of receiving the complaint.
Corrective Action Plan and Funding Deductions
- First determination that the district is out of compliance – no funding withheld; corrective action plan required. A district must submit a corrective action plan within one week of receiving the first notice of determination that it is out of compliance from the Department.
- Second, third and fourth determinations that the district is out of compliance – 25% of daily state transportation funding is withheld; and
- Fifth and additional determinations that the district is out of compliance – 100% of daily state transportation funding is withheld until the Department determines the district is no longer out of compliance.
Student Disbursements
The Department will calculate and disburse to the school where the affected student(s) are enrolled the per-student amount for those students. The school pays the calculated per-student amount to the parent, guardian or other person in charge of each student who did not receive proper transportation while the district was out of compliance.
Filing a Transportation Concern Form (2025 PPT)
TEM District Response Instructions (2025 PPT)
Last Modified: 8/29/2025 9:41:40 AM