An agreement between the state of California and the American Civil Liberties Union to establish a comprehensive monitoring and enforcement system that ensures school districts do no unlawfully charge fees to students in return for educational activities does not apply to school busing, said a state transportation association representative.
Pam McDonald, president of the California Association of School Transportation Officials and the transportation director at Orange Unified School District in Southern California, said the state is one of several nationwide that do not mandate school transportation services. As a result, the ACLU settlement does not apply to school districts that choose to charge fees to parents in return for allowing their children to ride school buses.
Several school districts in California charge parents if they want or need their children to utilize school buses on the way to and home from school. The ACLU said the settlement to end “pay to learn” still needs court approval and state legislation before it goes into effect. Alexandra Robinson, president-elect of NAPT and former transportation director at San Diego Unified, said it was her opinion that school bus ridership fees should continue to not be a problem for school districts “so long as districts continue not to charge for those students who are on free/reduced lunch or qualify for subsidized services.”
Under the legislation, if auditors find a district charged illegal fees, the district would be required to fully reimburse parents or suffer a financial penalty. Furthermore, parents would be able to challenge illegal fees immediately through the complaint process that provides for local resolution within 30 working days.
According to NASDPTS, only a handful of states require by law that school systems provide school buses for students who meet eligibility requirements.
Meanwhile, the issue leads to a potential dilemma for school transporters in California and elsewhere regarding an industry-wide stance that school buses represent an extension of the classroom. Could such an agreement and any pending legal decisions or legislative action actually hurt the school bus industry’s efforts headed by the American School Bus Council to pitch the school bus as a vital part of a student’s school day?
What are your thoughts?
