Students wait to board Metro, Cincinnati’s public bus system, to ride to their second day of school on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Cincinnati, Ohio. There are many factors school districts must consider before switching to public transit.
People shop for school supplies at a Staples store days before the start of the new school year in New York, on Sept. 2, 2024. Teachers across the country are facing rising classroom supply costs and uncertainty as looming tariffs and delayed federal funding force many to get creative and thrifty about how they prepare for the school year.