• Facilitator:
  Hello everyone who just joined us—let’s get started. We're going to cover a lot of content today, and since we only have a limited amount of time, we want to use it efficiently. If you have questions, please jot them down. If they relate to a specific page or slide, write that down too so we can revisit it quickly.

  This is a live webinar, and to save time, we won’t be jumping between too many screens. We’ll have Michaela walk us through the steps, and we’ll also show a short video demonstrating the workflow in the EZRouting system—what to do and what results to expect.

  Section 1: Preparing Students for the New School Year

  Let’s begin with how to get your students ready for the new school year. There are three scenarios your district may fall into:

  1. Your Student Information System (SIS) has rolled over

  2. Your SIS has not yet rolled over

  3. You do not have SIS integration with EZRouting

  Let’s start with Scenario 2.

  If Your SIS Has Not Rolled Over: Manual Rollover

  You can still prepare routes by doing a manual rollover.

  1. Go to Settings > Grades, and verify that each grade feeds into the next (e.g., Grade 5 feeds to Grade 6).

  2. Next, go to Operations > Rollover, and confirm that each school has the correct "feed" school.

  3. Once those are set, go to Operations > Rollover, select all students, and click Save. When prompted, click Yes. This will promote students to the next grade and, if applicable, to their next school.

  EZRouting will still update these manually rolled-over records later if a synced SIS file arrives overnight with updated data for more than 50% of students. It will override grades and schools to reflect accurate SIS data.

  If Your SIS Has Rolled Over

  If you’re already sending nightly files to EZRouting, the system automatically compares what’s in your database with what’s received and updates accordingly. Any changes will appear in the new school year.

  If you're not yet sending nightly files but do have a current-year student file, you can send us a CSV and we’ll perform a manual import.

  If You Have No SIS Integration

  You’ll want to follow the manual rollover process and optionally provide a CSV file for us to import your new students for the upcoming year.

  Section 2: Preparing Routes for the New School Year

  There are two main approaches:

  1. Use Current-Year Routes and carry them forward

  2. Create New Routes using auto-generation or manual methods

  Using Current-Year Routes

  If you're satisfied with your current routes:

  • Go to Routes > Operations > Clone Routes

  • Choose to clone from the current year into the next year

  • Click Select All or choose specific routes

  • Click Clone Routes, then Yes

  This will copy:

  • Trips

  • Trip stops

  • Student assignments

  You’ll need to update assignments for students moving to new schools. For example:

  • Filter by Grade 5 students (moving to Grade 6)

  • Regenerate their transportation plans based on current schedules:
    Operations > Batch Edit > Regenerate Plans from Bus Schedules

  • Then clone those transportation plans into the new year:
    Batch Edit > Transportation Plans > Clone

  Clear Out Old Bus Schedules

  After cloning, remove old schedules:

  • Batch Edit > Bus Schedules > Remove All

  Auto-Assign Students to Routes

  • Go to Operations > Auto Assign

  • Select your preferences and run the assignment

  • Review and click Save Assignments

  Section 3: Assigning Students to Routes (Multiple Methods)

  Map-Based Assignment Using Filters

  1. Create a custom filter: filter by school, ridership status, and routing status (unrouted/partially routed).

  2. Go to Routes tab, make target routes visible.

  3. Go to Operations > Show Students, choose your filter.

  4. Click on a student dot:

     • Click Assign

     • Choose a route and either:

       • Assign to existing stop

       • Add stop to route

       • Create a new stop

  5. Click Save

  Assigning Within a Single Trip

  1. Go to the Routes tab, enter Edit mode

  2. Choose the trip and Edit Trip Properties to apply a student filter

  3. Click Add New Trip Stops

  4. Click Show Unrouted and Partially Routed Students

  5. Assign students by:

     • Clicking and dragging from student to stop

     • Clicking the student to create a new stop at their location

     • Dragging students to stops within walking distance

  Enable Auto Mode to have the system place new stops in the correct sequence.

  Assigning From the Student Record

  1. Go to the Students tab, enter the student record

  2. Click Bus Schedules > Search and Add

  3. Select a stop and associated trips

  4. Click Accept, then Save

  Handling Special Transportation Plans

  Use Transportation Plans for unique situations (e.g., joint custody, daycare):

  1. Go to Student Record > Transportation Plan > Add

  2. Specify days and directions

  3. Add as many plans as needed

  4. Use Search and Add Bus Schedules to assign them to active routes

  Section 4: Sibling Routing with Family ID

  1. Route one sibling using Search and Add Bus Schedules

  2. In the sibling’s record, click Family ID

  3. Click Copy Schedules to apply the same AM/PM schedule

  Most districts use a shared parent phone number as Family ID.

  Section 5: Creating New Routes from Scratch

  Combine Trips

  If consolidating hybrid model trips:

  • Go to Routes > Operations > Combine Trips

  Manually Adjust Routes

  • Set two or more trips visible

  • Operations > Manually Adjust Routes

  • Move stops across trips

  Auto-Generate Routes

  1. Create a Sandbox:
     Settings > School Year and Session > Add Sandbox

  2. Go to Routes > Operations > Auto Generate Routes

  3. Enter parameters (e.g., max onboard time)

  4. Click Generate Routes

  The system will create optimized routes and assign students automatically.

  Section 6: Transportation Programs

  To restrict certain students to specific routes:

  1. Create a program in Settings > Transport Programs

  2. Tag trips with one or more programs via Edit Trip Properties

  3. Assign a program to a student

  4. When searching for bus schedules, only matching trips will appear

  Section 7: Parent Communication

  Send Real-Time Notifications

  • Go to Operations > Real-Time Notifications

  • Choose delivery method (email/SMS)

  • Select recipients (primary contact or all)

  • Choose or customize a message template (e.g., bus schedules)

  • Click Send

  Parent Portal Setup

  • Go to Personal Icon > Settings > Parent Portal

  • Set options:

    • Allow or block address edits

    • Allow or block request types

    • Add a welcome message

  • Set the school year

  • Send registration links via:

    • Batch: Operations > Send Parent Register Links

    • Individual: Edit student > Parent Register Link

  Section 8: Reviewing Parent Requests

  • Go to Personal Icon > New Change Requests

  • View who submitted the request and the affected student

  • Accept or decline

  • If accepted, review and edit student routing as needed

  • Use Change Request History to view past requests

  Section 9: Find My Bus Tool

  1. Enable in Settings > Enable Find My Bus

  2. Share your district’s custom URL:
     findmyschool.us/[your-extension]

  3. Parents can enter address + school to see suggested buses/stops

  Q&A Session Highlights

  • Parent portal customization is flexible via settings.

  • CSV imports can be used if SIS integration isn’t live.

  • Family ID fields can be imported via SIS or sent manually.

  • Manual entry for special ed students is supported.

  • Terms and Conditions can be posted in the parent portal and require agreement.

  • Sandbox work stays in the same school year and won’t be lost during rollover.

  • A new request for a "Clone Student" function for siblings was noted and will be passed to development

Updated May 20, 2025 16:13