How to Calculate Eligible Students on the Transportation Route Report
by Makenzi M. Johnson, CPA, Senior Associate
Posted on August 12, 2025
As your auditor, we are required to review your district’s Transportation Route Report. We are required to determine whether the District accurately reported the number of miles and eligible students transported based on ADE’s Transportation Guidelines (USFR Compliance Questionnaire – Transportation support). ADE’s School Finance Manual [J] Transportation provides detailed steps on how route miles and eligible students should be calculated on the Transportation Route Report. Your district may have been referencing ADE’s Policy SF-0002, but it should be noted that this policy will be archived soon, and School Finance Manual [J] Transportation should be reviewed for updated guidance.
Calculating eligible students
To summarize ADE’s School Finance Manual [J] Transportation, your district should select at least 25 school days within the first 100 days. Once the days are selected, count the number of eligible students transported from a morning pickup point and the number of eligible students transported after school to a drop-off point. Divide the result of the previous step by 2. The result of this step represents the average daily riders. Finally, divide this amount by the number of identified days. The result of the previous step is the amount that should be reported as eligible students on the Transportation Route Report.
Your district will need to maintain documentation to support the days selected to calculate eligible students and the total number of students transported during those selected days. Having detailed documentation will allow your auditor to easily recalculate the number of eligible students your district reported on the Transportation Route Report. This can also help your district avoid findings in the Transportation support section of the USFR Compliance Questionnaire related to the District’s calculation of eligible students. See details below about some common errors noted when calculating eligible students and reporting route miles.
Common errors noted when auditing the Transportation Route Report
There are some common errors that we come across when auditing a District’s Transportation Route Report, including the calculation of eligible students and reporting of route miles.
- Not maintaining documentation to support the amounts reported.
- Not documenting which days were selected to calculate eligible students.
- Selecting more than 25 days and dividing the number of eligible students transported by 25.
- Selecting different days from each bus route and dividing the number of eligible students transported by 25.
- Selecting days outside the first 100 days of school.
- Summation errors when calculating the number of miles.
To avoid these errors, make sure that your district follows the steps outlined in ADE’s Transportation Guidelines (School Finance Manual [J] Transportation).
Happy transportation reporting!
