Minnesota Department of Transportation

511 Travel Info

Safe Routes to School

Student Transportation Equity for Priority Populations (STEPP) Tool

The Student Transportation Equity for Priority Populations (or STEPP) tool was developed to support equitable scoring during the Safe Routes to School grant application process. The STEPP tool uses a variety of metrics related to reaching priority populations and allows grant applicants to quickly look up the equity score for schools identified in their application.

In alignment with the 2020 MnSRTS Strategic Plan, this tool allows for centralizing equity within the MnSRTS program. The Strategic Plan includes strategies that strive to achieve equitable outcomes by developing and distributing tools, resources, and funding that prioritize communities who are more likely to rely on walking or biking for transportation, are more vulnerable to unsafe traffic conditions, or have experienced historic disinvestment.

An outcome of the STEPP tool is to prioritize program investments by a score that is not subjective. The equity score uses five indicators to identify priority populations in Minnesota, providing a picture of higher need for Safe Routes to School assistance. In order to be more equitable in the allocation of resources, MnSRTS will award application points based on these measures.

Solicitation applications require understanding the equity score for all involved schools. Look up the school name, select the school name from the list, and then the equity score associated with that school will be in the pop-up on the left side of the screen (Field name STEPP Score). In the case of multiple schools in your application, please enter the individual score for each school.

Applicants who prefer not to use the map above can download the equity scores file (Excel). The file can be opened using several applications compatible with .xlsx filenames, including Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, Google Sheets, and Microsoft Open Office. Then search for your schools/districts within the spreadsheet using the "Find" feature. More information on the indicators used to calculate the equity score is available under "2023-24 STEPP Scores Details" tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

Private and charter schools may not have data on the STEPP score as data from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) may not be available. These schools may either opt into the lowest STEPP score available for schools or provide the data needed to develop a partial score by emailing the information below to saferoutes.dot@state.mn.us to develop a STEPP score.

Percent of:

  • Students of Color or American Indian
  • English Language Learners
  • Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Eligibility
  • Student Receiving Special Education Services
  • Students Experiencing Homelessness

Safe Routes to School Student Transportation Equity for Priority Populations Scoring Methodology

Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) staff in coordination with external partners and stakeholders generated a list of relevant equity indicators for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) projects. These equity indicators, taken together, were meant to provide a picture of the need for Safe Routes to School assistance. SRTS staff would use them in two ways: to evaluate equitable distribution of past SRTS resources, and to allocate SRTS assistance more equitably in the future.
The table below displays the full list of equity indicators.

  • Percent Students of Color or American Indian
  • Percent of Students who are English Language Learners
  • Percent of Students Eligible for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch
  • Percent of Students Receiving Special Education Services
  • Percent of Students Experiencing Homelessness

This data was all sourced from the Minnesota Department of Education. The point locations used for visualization of these scores was also sourced from the Minnesota Department of Education.

Read more information on scoring methodology, including sources (Word).

To counter the subjective nature of evaluating equity, the equity score is intended to balance the scales between schools and help identify communities with populations that may have experienced historic disinvestment. As an example of how the score is used, in evaluating the Boost grant, the number of points received is equal to the equity score. In the case of multiple schools, we will use the average of all schools in the application.

Please reference to the SRTS Grant Guide for more specific information on scoring.

The terms equality and equity are often used interchangeably, but they actually differ in important ways. While equality calls for an even distribution of tools and resources regardless of need, equity calls for custom tools that identify and address inequalities so that all people can reach their full potential. In other words, achieving equitable outcomes may result in an unequal distribution of resources. The MnSRTS Strategic Plan strives to achieve equitable outcomes by developing and distributing tools, resources, and funding that prioritize communities who are more likely to rely on walking or biking for transportation, are more vulnerable to unsafe traffic conditions, or have experienced historic disinvestment.

As defined in the MnSRTS Strategic Plan:

  • Equity in SRTS means that every student is able to safely, comfortably, and conveniently walk and bike to school, regardless of race, cultural identity, tribal affiliation, immigrant or refugee status, language, gender or sexual identity, income, religion, and whether or not a student receives special education, has a physical or mental disability, or is homeless or highly mobile. An equity approach requires working with local partners to tailor programs and allocate resources to meet the unique needs of the community.
  • Priority populations include individuals, groups, and communities who are more likely to rely on walking, biking, or transit for transportation; are more vulnerable to unsafe traffic conditions; or have suffered historic disinvestment in safe, comfortable, walking and biking infrastructure.