How to Fill Out and Submit the Massachusetts EEC Transportation Form

The Massachusetts EEC transportation form, officially the Transportation Plan and Authorization, is a free PDF you download from Mass.gov, fill out with your child’s daily arrival and departure details and a list of people allowed to pick them up, sign, and give to your licensed child care provider before your child starts care.¹ The provider cannot legally accept your child into daily care without a signed version on file.²

Where to Download the Form

The Department of Early Education and Care posts the Transportation Plan and Authorization on its licensing forms page for group and school age child care programs, under the “Sample Forms” heading alongside the enrollment form, medication consent, and off-site activities permission slip.¹ The direct download link is mass.gov/doc/transportation-plan-and-authorization/download. Your provider will often hand you a printed copy at enrollment, and some programs use their own version. Either is fine as long as it captures the same information EEC’s template covers, because the underlying rule is not optional: under 606 CMR 7.13(2), every licensee must obtain written parental consent for each child’s individual transportation plan.²

Child and Program Identification

Begin with your child’s full legal name and the full name of the licensed program. Use the name that matches the enrollment paperwork; nicknames can create confusion during a licensing inspection, because the form has to tie cleanly to the child’s individual record.³

If the form asks for a parent contact number or home address, fill it in even if the same information appears on your enrollment form. Staff use the transportation page as a quick-reference during drop-off and pickup and don’t always have time to pull the full file.

Arrival and Departure Details

The core of the form is two parallel sections, one for how your child gets to the program and one for how they leave. Each asks you to indicate the method of transportation. The standard options include parent drop-off, parent pickup, supervised walk, program-provided vehicle, school bus, and public transportation. Check every method that applies to your child’s regular week. If Monday looks different from Wednesday, say so on the form.

Next to each method, write in the approximate time. It doesn’t need to be exact to the minute, but it should be close enough that staff know when to expect your child and when supervision responsibility shifts between you, a bus driver, or the program. A school bus arriving around 3:15 p.m. and a parent pickup at 5:30 p.m. are both entries on the same form.

For a child who walks to the program or to a bus stop, note the specific route or pickup location. The regulation requires the program’s written transportation plan to address the safety and supervision of children who walk and children who use public transit, so be specific.² “Walks from Lincoln Elementary, enters through side door on Oak Street” is more useful than “walks.”

Authorized Pickup List and Emergency Contact

The child’s record must include a written list of every person you authorize to take your child from the program.³ The transportation form has space for several names with phone numbers. List anyone who might realistically pick your child up: grandparents, neighbors, a carpool parent, an after-school tutor. If a name isn’t on the list, the provider should not release your child to that person.

Tell the people on your list to expect a photo ID check at pickup until staff recognize them. This is standard practice at most licensed programs and protects against unauthorized pickups.

The form also asks for emergency contact information: at least one person the program can reach when you’re unavailable during transit times. The regulations require the record to include the name, address, and phone number of an emergency contact.³ Choose someone who reliably answers during the hours your child is in care, because if a vehicle breaks down or your child doesn’t appear at a pickup spot, staff need a real person on the line fast.

If the Program Transports Your Child

When your provider runs vans or contracts with a transportation company, there’s more going on behind the form you sign. The program must maintain its own written transportation plan covering safety policies, a designated transportation coordinator with a listed phone number, procedures for medical emergencies, and what happens if your child isn’t at the pickup spot or no approved adult is at drop-off.² You can ask for a copy.

A few vehicle and driver standards under 606 CMR 7.13(4) are worth knowing as a parent. Drivers must hold a valid Massachusetts license, and if the vehicle carries more than eight passengers the driver must meet school bus driver requirements under M.G.L. c. 90. At least one person on each vehicle must hold current first aid and CPR certification. Every child in a vehicle with fewer than 16 passenger seats must use an appropriate car seat, safety carrier, or seat belt that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards. Children under 12 cannot ride in the front seat of any vehicle equipped with airbags. When more than eight children are on board, someone besides the driver must ride along as an attendant. The driver must take attendance before and after every trip and inspect the entire vehicle afterward to confirm no child has been left inside.² These rules apply whether the program owns the vehicles or hires a contractor. If you see your child’s van without booster seats or the driver regularly on a phone call during routes, those are reportable concerns.

Accommodations for a Child with a Disability

The program’s written transportation plan must include any special arrangements for children with disabilities, and the provider must comply with both the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.² A program cannot refuse to transport your child solely because of a disability and should, whenever possible, use the same vehicles that carry other children.

If your child has an Individualized Education Program through the public school system, transportation may already be listed there as a related service. Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the IEP team decides whether specialized transportation is needed for the child to benefit from special education services and how it is provided.⁴ On the EEC form, note any accommodations your child needs, such as a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, a specialized car seat, or a travel aide, so the child care provider can coordinate with the district and avoid gaps in coverage.

Signing and Handing It In

A parent or legal guardian signs and dates the form. There is no state agency to mail it to; you hand it to the program and they place the original in your child’s individual record, which has to be accessible to EEC licensing staff during visits.

If your program accepts electronic forms, a digital signature is generally valid under both the federal E-Sign Act and the Massachusetts Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, which say a signature or record can’t be denied legal effect just because it’s electronic. Some programs still prefer ink for licensing simplicity, so ask before filling the PDF out on a screen.

Keep a copy at home. If a question comes up midyear about who is allowed to pick up or what time a bus is expected, you’ll want to know exactly what the program has on file.

When to File a New Form

The form reflects a routine, and routines change. File a new one whenever your child’s transportation arrangement shifts: a new carpool, a different school bus route, an authorized pickup person added or removed. A form from September that says “parent drop-off” no longer reflects reality once you switch to a program van in January, and an outdated form defeats its purpose.

Field Trips Are Separate

The transportation plan form covers your child’s regular daily routine. It does not substitute for field trip permission. The program’s overall transportation plan must describe how children are transported on field trips, and 606 CMR 7.04 requires written parental consent before a child can participate in any off-site activity.² Expect a separate permission slip for each outing. For school-age children nine and up, that consent must specify the day, time, method of transportation, and an acknowledgment that you are responsible for the child once they leave the premises.³

1
Department of Early Education and Care. Licensing Forms for Group and School Age Child Care Programs
2
Legal Information Institute. 606 CMR 7.13 – Transportation
3
Legal Information Institute. 606 CMR 7.04 – Administration
4
U.S. Department of Education. Questions and Answers on Serving Children with Disabilities Eligible for Transportation