Hundreds of Lakewood students and their parents are learning they will no longer have access to school bus transportation.

The change affects students in kindergarten through eighth grade who live within two miles of their school and high school students who live within 2.5 miles.

Under New Jersey law, transportation for students living within those distances is considered courtesy busing and is not required.

As a result, many students will now have to walk to school or find another way to get there.

An attorney for the Lakewood School District said the township stopped funding the service because it could no longer afford it.

The decision has left many families scrambling to make new transportation arrangements as the school year gets underway.