School transport
The compensation and organisation of school travel is governed by the Basic Education Act, the decision of the Municipal Council, the Municipal Administrative Regulations and the principles approved by the local Education and Cultural Committee.
The pupil’s travel to school is organised to the school in the area where he/she lives or to any other school designated by the municipality, if the distance to school is more than 3 km (grades 1 to 2) and more than 5 km (grades 3 to 9). There is no need to apply for school transport on the basis of the distance to school.
The distance to school is measured along the shortest pedestrian route from the home gate to the school gate.
If a pupil attends a school outside his/her own school district (secondary school) at the initiative of the guardian, the guardian is responsible for school transport, including transport for accidents during free time.
For pupils in shared custody, school transport is compensated to the school in the area where the pupil is registered, according to the above criteria, from the address where the pupil is registered in the population register.
School transport is granted upon application, if
Based on the decision of the local Education and Cultural Committee on dangerous school journeys and a calculated assessment of the danger of roads for pupils on foot or by bicycle based on traffic and road data (Koululiitu).
On the basis of a sufficient explanation provided by the guardian (medical/psychological report). As a rule, transport must be applied for separately for each academic year.
Arranging of school transport
As a rule, school transport is provided by regular bus services. If there is no bus service, transport is provided by charter/taxi or an escort allowance is paid to the guardian. Due to the combination of transport, pupils may have to wait at school for an hour or leave an hour earlier in the morning. A pupil’s journey to school may also include a journey to a bus stop or taxi route, up to a maximum of 3 km.
The maximum daily journey to school and waiting time for a pupil is 2.5 hours. If the pupil is 13 years of age or older at the beginning of the school year, the maximum journey time is 3 hours.
If a pupil using a taxi/shuttle service does not need transport due to illness or other reasons, the guardian must notify the transport provider, the school or the school office directly in the first instance. The cost of the cancelled transport will be charged to the guardian.
There is no separate school transport for TET placements. If the student is already on school transport, he/she is entitled to use normal school transport on TET days.
Instructions and forms
Submission of the school transport application and attachments
Applications for school transport (available in Finnish) and the accompanying expert reports should be sent to the school office, preferably by e-mail to koulutoimisto@siilinjarvi.fi. Applications and expert reports can be returned by ordinary e-mail or by using the SecMail secure mail service. For instructions on how to use the secure mail service, click on thislink .