INDIANAPOLIS — A student, crossing guard and adult were hit near a crossing outside IPS school George W. Julian on Wednesday, and are in critical condition at area hospitals.
Now, some of you are asking about IPS's walk zone policy that was implemented in the 2020-2021 school year. Here's a refresher.
IPS started a "walk zone policy" at all IPS K-12 schools starting in the fall.
Families affected by this change were contacted directly by the district and informed that their student(s) are ineligible for transportation services and will be assigned the "walker" designation for their transportation status.
Here is how IPS is classifying walkers:
- K-6 students who reside 1 mile or less from their school.
- 7-8 students who reside 1.25 miles or less from their school.
- 9-12 students who reside 1.5 miles or less from their school.
An estimated 2,000 students were affected by this change.
IPS said transportation may be provided for students within the walking distance guidelines when physical barriers, such as busy intersections, prevent safe travel to school. Transportation may also be provided because of a qualifying medical condition.
Click here to fill out a walk zone exemption form.
The walk-zone policy was implemented at the same time IPS said it partnered with IndyGo to provide transportation for some high school students.
Select students from Arsenal Tech, Crispus Attucks, Emmerich Manual, George Washington, Graduation Academy, KIPP Indy Legacy, Newcomer Program at Northwest Middle School, Shortridge and Thrival Academy will use IndyGo as their primary service for transportation to and from school. Students at Herron, Riverside and Purdue Polytechnic already use IndyGo as an option for transportation.
IPS provided students with ID cards annually with free electronic bus passes.
The following criteria will be used to determine which students will use IndyGo:
- Zero IndyGo bus transfers
- Less than .7-mile total walk
- No more than 50 minutes total travel time.
IPS expects the average total travel time for students to be 25 minutes.
IPS said the bus passes will allow students to commute to and from school, work and extracurricular activities, or simply to explore the city's offerings and attractions.
Click here to learn how to track IndyGo buses.