The mission of Special Education Transportation, also known as the Department of Student Transportation, is to support learning opportunities by providing safe, on-time and efficient transportation services to eligible District of Columbia students.

The Department of Student Transportation (DOT) is primarily responsible for processing student transportation requests from Local Education Agencies ("LEAs"); maintaining the means to transport eligible students safely and on time; and improving service levels by collaborating with stakeholder groups that include parents, school staff and special education advocates. The Special Education Transportation agency is divided into three major divisions:

• The Director’s Office - which provides leadership, strategic guidance, and routing and scheduling services, and which serves as a resource center for parents;
• Bus and Terminal Operations - which provides bus drivers and bus attendants and ensures smooth daily operations as it relates to buses leaving and returning to terminals; and
• Fleet Maintenance - which manages all bus repair and preventative maintenance activities.

Each major component listed is responsible for specific day-to-day activities.