Naperville 203’s board of education has decided to slow its roll into making a decision on a new policy concerning students’ use of rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft, among others, in the hopes of having a document in place that considers a variety of scenarios.
The board was scheduled to act on the proposed policy at its Monday, June 1, meeting, but the agenda item was ultimately tabled after a number of elected officials weighed in on the issue.
Policy proposal first discussed last month
Last month, Naperville 203 administrators had a preliminary discussion with the board about the potential policy as a precursor to the scheduled June 1 vote.
If adopted, Naperville 203 could be the first Illinois district to have such a policy on its books. Administrators last month indicated they were not aware of any others within the state with such a policy.
A rise in rideshare requests this past school year was the impetus for the policy proposal. Administrators essentially are discouraging the use of rideshare services through the policy, though a proposed waiver has been discussed as a potential option for parents and guardians looking to have their child transported in an emergency situation.
To date, the Illinois Association of School Boards’ Policy Reference Education Subscription Service has not created a boilerplate ordinance for districts to adopt. The majority of Naperville 203’s board policies are first drafted through PRESS.
“This policy was written by your board counsel; this was not drafted by administration,” Mark Cohen, the district’s deputy superintendent for high schools, said of the process.
Rideshare requests within the 2025-26 school year were relatively small throughout the school year, according to information from administrators. When asked to quantify, Superintendent Dan Bridges estimated the total number of requests likely hovered between 10 and an even dozen, though he indicated he did not have an official number on hand.
“I would say enough to have raised the concern that we have to have something in place,” Bridges said.
Outright prohibition of students under age 13 proposed
During deliberations at the recent meeting, a number of board members expressed interest in having an outright prohibition of a rideshare option for elementary school students or youth under age 13.
Board member Amanda McMillen made the initial proposal during deliberations at the most recent meeting.
“This kind of leaves it broad,” McMillen said, referencing the draft policy that was presented to the board for action. “I’m wondering if we should have a restriction around the minimum age, if we were to allow this.”
School Board President Charles Cush offered similar sentiments, stating, “I’m more concerned about the younger kids. There are more permissions and more things that are allotted to our older students.”
Board member Joseph Kozminski also expressed support for a declarative statement against rideshare use for younger students, though at the moment, he pointed out such a concern is largely already settled outside the district’s purview.
“It makes sense to have that clause,” Kozminski said. “But I also just did a quick Google search, and it looks like the rideshare companies are not even supposed to allow individual riders under age 13. I feel like there are already some legal boundaries around that.”
Cush, in response, said an in-house policy keeps Naperville 203 on a solid footing on its stance on the issue without having to rely on what is taking place within the confines of any of the rideshare services’ policies.
Administrators have been asked to go back to the district’s legal counsel at the law firm of Robbins Schwartz and inquire about the insertion of the age restriction.
Other board members, including Melissa Kelley Black, said in more general terms they would like a thorough analysis of the policy before action is taken.
“We’ve talked about how this is a new forefront,” Kelley Black said. “I think this could be workshopped a little better, instead of one kind of solution for all.”
Administrators address what steps would be in place for waiver
Naperville 203’s liability for student safety during the regular school day has been a key part of the rideshare discussion. Cohen shared with the board the complexity of having an outside firm transport students that has its own independent system for vetting drivers.
Public school districts such as Naperville 203 have long had a rigorous set of vehicle standards, bus driver background checks, and communication protocols related to buses that are well documented.
“I would not recommend in any way, shape, or form, the district vouching for any private company’s background checking process,” Cohen said. “That is completely outside of our control, and subject to their corporation’s whims.”
If the Naperville 203 board were to ultimately adopt the policy and offer provisions for a waiver, Cush shared concerns of what he described as “enterprising students” trying to abuse the provision and get out of school.
“I would say those enterprising students have been around since the beginning of time,” Cohen said, in response. “Our offices are constantly on the lookout for any reasons to leave school that would not pass the muster of an investigation.”
Cohen added that staff members would make contact with a parent or guardian on file as an added vetting process before granting the waiver.
Cush also expressed interest in having frequent discussions about the rideshare policy if it is ultimately approved fo the upcoming 2026-27 school year.
“I would want to have, at least for the first year of this, a more frequent review, where we could look at how much this is being utilized, and what we’ve learned,” Cush said.
Several board members, including Kristine Gericke, recommended having the policy on the books at the start of the new school year, rather than midyear, if it is adopted for the 2026-27 school year.
Further discussion and potential action on the policy proposal are anticipated at meetings this summer.
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