Thousands of Ohio students left without a school bus ride as private school transport expands

COLUMBUS, Ohio —

A scramble is underway for some Ohio families over a staple of the back-to-school season: rides on the big, yellow school bus.

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Public school districts canceled bus transportation for thousands of high schoolers again this year while in some cases still busing students to private and charter schools to avoid steep fines under state requirements. In Dayton, a stopgap effort that gives students public transit passes in lieu of school bus rides was temporarily restored by a judge last week. This came after the district sued, alleging the state illegally restricted the program.

The crunch for rides emerged as a bus driver shortage was compounded by Ohio's school transportation regulations and its expansi