11.04 General Considerations

11.04.01 Transportation of a Person with a Disability to a Developmental Achievement Center

Legal Citations

The board must contract with any licensed developmental achievement center attended by a resident person with a disability who fulfills the eligibility requirements of section 252.23, subd. 1, to transport the resident student with a disability to the developmental achievement center in return for payment by the center of the cost of the transportation, if transportation by the board is in the best interest of the person with a disability and is not unreasonably burdensome to the district and if a less expensive, reasonable, alternative means of transporting the person with a disability does not exist. If the board and the developmental achievement center are unable to agree to a contract, either the board or the center may appeal to the commissioner to resolve the conflict. All decisions of the commissioner shall be final and binding upon the board and the center. Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, subd. 19.

11.04.02 Transportation of Pupils Receiving Instruction in Nonresident District

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The board may provide for the instruction of any resident pupil in another district when inadequate room, distance to school, unfavorable road conditions, or other facts or conditions make attendance in the pupil's own district unreasonably difficult or impractical, in which case such district shall pay to the district so attended the tuition agreed upon or charged, pursuant to section 123A.488, subdivision 2, and may provide transportation; provided, that such pupil shall continue to be a pupil of the district of residence for the payment of apportionment and other state aids. Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, subd. 4.

When a district provides instruction and services in a day program outside the district of residence, the district of residence is responsible for providing transportation. When a district provides instruction and services requiring board and lodging or placement in a residential program outside the district of residence, the nonresident district in which the child is placed is responsible for providing transportation. Transportation costs shall be paid by the district responsible for providing transportation and the state shall pay transportation aid to that district. Minn. Stat. § 125A.11, subd. 2.

For the purposes of this subdivision, a "nonresident pupil" is a pupil who resides in one district, defined as the "resident district" and attends school in another district, defined as the "nonresident district."

If requested, a nonresident district shall transport a nonresident pupil within its borders and may transport a nonresident pupil within the pupil's resident district. If a nonresident district decides to transport a nonresident pupil within the pupil's resident district, the nonresident district must notify the pupil's resident district of its decision, in writing, prior to providing transportation. Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, subd. 6.

11.04.03 Transportation of Pupils who Attend in Another District

Legal Citations

No resident of a district who is eligible for special instruction and services pursuant to this section may be denied provision of this instruction and service because of attending a public school in another district pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, subd. 5, if the attendance is not subject to Minn. Stat. §§ 124D.06, 124D.07, or 124D.08. If the pupil attends a public school located in a contiguous district and the district of attendance does not provide special instruction and services, the district of residence must provide necessary transportation for the pupil between the boundary of the district of residence and the educational facility where special instruction and services are provided within the district of residence. The district of residence may provide necessary transportation for the pupil between its boundary and the school attended in the contiguous district, but must not pay the cost of transportation provided outside the boundary of the district of residence. Minn. Stat. § 125A.12.

11.04.04 Transportation to and from a Neutral Site for Private School Students

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(i) If necessary for the child to benefit from or participate in the services provided under this part, a parentally-placed private school child with a disability must be provided transportation -

(A) From the child's school or the child's home to a site other than the private school; and

(B) From the service site to the private school, or to the child's home, depending on the timing of the services.

(ii) LEAs are not required to provide transportation from the child's home to the private school. 34 C.F.R. § 300.139(b)(1).

11.04.05 Special Instruction; Nonpublic Schools

Legal Citations

No resident of a district who is eligible for special instruction and services under this section may be denied instruction and service on a shared time basis consistent with section 126C.19, subdivision 4, because of attending a nonpublic school defined in section 123B.41, subdivision 9. If a resident pupil with a disability attends a nonpublic school located within the district of residence, the district must provide necessary transportation for that pupil within the district between the nonpublic school and the educational facility where special instruction and services are provided on a shared time basis. If a resident pupil with a disability attends a nonpublic school located in another district and if no agreement exists under section 126C.19 subdivision 1 or 2, for providing special instruction and services on a shared time basis to that pupil by the district of attendance and where the special instruction and services are provided within the district of residence, the district of residence must provide necessary transportation for that pupil between the boundary of the district of residence and the educational facility. The district of residence may provide necessary transportation for that pupil between its boundary and the nonpublic school attended, but the nonpublic school must pay the cost of transportation provided outside the district boundary.

Parties serving students on a shared time basis have access to the due process hearing system described under United States Code, title 20, and the complaint system under Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 300.660-662. In the event it is determined under these systems that the nonpublic school or staff impeded the public school district's provision of a free appropriate education, the commissioner may withhold public funds available to the nonpublic school proportionally applicable to that student under section 123B.42. Minn. Stat. § 125A.18.

11.04.06 Transportation of Students in Open Enrollment Options

Legal Citations

If requested by the parent of a pupil, the nonresident district shall provide transportation within the district.

The resident district is not required to provide or pay for transportation between the pupil's residence and the border of the nonresident district. A parent may be reimbursed by the nonresident district for the costs of transportation from the pupil's residence to the border of the nonresident district if the pupil is from a family whose income is at or below the poverty level, as determined by the federal government. The reimbursement may not exceed the pupil's actual cost of transportation or 15 cents per mile traveled, whichever is less. Reimbursement may not be paid for more than 250 miles per week.

At the time a nonresident district notifies a parent or guardian that an application has been accepted under subdivision 4 or 5, the nonresident district must provide the parent or guardian with the following information regarding the transportation of nonresident pupils under section 123B.88, subdivision 6. Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, subd. 8.

11.04.07 Area Learning Center Pupils

Legal Citations

Districts may provide bus transportation along school bus routes established to provide nonregular transportation when space is available, for pupils attending programs at an area learning center. The transportation is only permitted between schools and if it does not increase the district's expenditures for transportation. The cost of these services shall be considered part of the authorized cost for nonregular transportation for the purpose of section 123B.92. Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, subd. 13.

11.04.08 Charter School Transportation

Legal Citations

(a) By July 1 of each year, a charter school must notify the district in which the school is located the Department of Education if it will provide transportation for pupils enrolled in the school for the fiscal year.

(b) If a charter school elects to provide transportation for pupils, the transportation must be provided by the charter school within the district in which the charter school is located. The state must pay transportation aid to the charter school according to section 124D.11, subdivision 2.

For pupils who reside outside the district in which the charter school is located, the charter school is not required to provide or pay for transportation between the pupil's residence and the border of the district in which the charter school is located. A parent may be reimbursed by the charter school for costs of transportation from the pupil's residence to the border of the district in which the charter school is located if the pupil is from a family whose income is at or below the poverty level, as determined by the federal government. The reimbursement may not exceed the pupil's actual cost of transportation or 15 cents per mile traveled, whichever is less. Reimbursement may not be paid for more than 250 miles per week.

At the time a pupil enrolls in a charter school, the charter school must provide the parent or guardian with information regarding the transportation.

(c) If a charter school does not elect to provide transportation, transportation for pupils enrolled at the school must be provided by the district in which the school is located, according to sections 123B.88, subdivision 6, and 124D.03, subdivision 8, for a pupil residing in the same district in which the charter school is located. Transportation may be provided by the district in which the school is located, according to sections 123B.88, subdivision 6, and 124D.03, subdivision 8, for a pupil residing in a different district. If the district provides the transportation, the scheduling of routes, manner and method of transportation, control and discipline of the pupils, and any other matter relating to the transportation of pupils under this paragraph shall be within the sole discretion, control, and management of the district. Minn. Stat. § 124D.10, subd. 16.

11.04,09 Providing Transportation for Pre-Kindergarten Early Childhood Special Education Pupils

Legal Citations

The board may provide for the transportation of pupils to and from school and for any other purpose. The board may also provide for the transportation of pupils to schools in other districts for grades and departments not maintained in the district, including high school, at the expense of the district, when funds are available therefore and if agreeable to the district to which it is proposed to transport the pupils, for the whole or a part of the school year, as it may deem advisable, and subject to its rules. In any district, the board must arrange for the attendance of all pupils living two miles or more from the school, except pupils whose transportation privileges have been voluntarily surrendered under subdivision 2, or whose privileges have been revoked under section 123B.91, subdivision 1, clause (6), or 123B.90, subdivision 2. The district may provide for the transportation of or the boarding and rooming of the pupils who may be more economically and conveniently provided for by that means. Arrangements for attendance may include a requirement that parents or guardians request transportation before it is provided. The board must provide transportation to and from the home of a child with a disability not yet enrolled in kindergarten when special instruction and services under sections 125A.03 to 125A.24, 125A.26 to 125A.48, and 125A.65 are provided in a location other than in the child's home. When transportation is provided, scheduling of routes, establishment of the location of bus stops, manner and method of transportation, control and discipline of school children, the determination of fees, and any other matter relating thereto must be within the sole discretion, control, and management of the board. The district may provide for the transportation of pupils or expend a reasonable amount for room and board of pupils whose attendance at school can more economically and conveniently be provided for by that means or who attend school in a building rented or leased by a district within the confines of an adjacent district. Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, subd. 1.

11.04.10 Custodial Parent Transportation

Legal Citations

The board may provide transportation for a pupil who is a custodial parent and that pupil's child between the pupil's home and a child care provider and between the provider and the school. The board must establish criteria for transportation it provides according to this subdivision. Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, subd. 20.

11.04.11 Pupil Transport on Staff Development Days

Legal Citations

A district may provide bus transportation between home and school for pupils on days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, teacher's workshops, or other staff development opportunities. If approved by the commissioner as part of a program of educational improvement, the cost of providing this transportation, as determined by generally accepted accounting principles, must be considered part of the authorized cost for regular transportation for the purposes of section 123B.92. The commissioner shall approve inclusion of these costs in the regular transportation category only if the total number of instructional hours in the school year divided by the total number of days for which transportation is provided equals or exceeds the number of instructional hours per day prescribed in the rules of the Department of Education. Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, subd. 21.

11.04.12 Placement of Children without Disabilities; Education and Transportation

Legal Citations

The responsibility for providing instruction and transportation for a pupil without a disability who has a short-term or temporary physical or emotional illness or disability, as determined by the standards of the commissioner, and who is temporarily placed for care and treatment for that illness or disability, must be determined as provided in this section.

(a) The school district of residence of the pupil is the district in which the pupil's parent or guardian resides.

(b) When parental rights have been terminated by court order, the legal residence of a child placed in a residential or foster facility for care and treatment is the district in which the child resides.

(c) Before the placement of a pupil for care and treatment, the district of residence must be notified and provided an opportunity to participate in the placement decision. When an immediate emergency placement is necessary and time does not permit resident district participation in the placement decision, the district in which the pupil is temporarily placed, if different from the district of residence, must notify the district of residence of the emergency placement within 15 days of the placement.

(d) When a pupil without a disability is temporarily placed for care and treatment in a day program and the pupil continues to live within the district of residence during the care and treatment, the district of residence must provide instruction and necessary transportation to and from the treatment facility for the pupil. Transportation shall only be provided by the district during regular operating hours of the district. The district may provide the instruction at a school within the district of residence, at the pupil's residence, or in the case of a placement outside of the resident district, in the district in which the day treatment program is located by paying tuition to that district. The district of placement may contract with a facility to provide instruction by teachers licensed by the state Board of Teaching.

(e) When a pupil without a disability is temporarily placed in a residential program for care and treatment, the district in which the pupil is placed must provide instruction for the pupil and necessary transportation while the pupil is receiving instruction, and in the case of a placement outside of the district of residence, the nonresident district must bill the district of residence for the actual cost of providing the instruction for the regular school year and for summer school, excluding transportation costs. When a pupil without a disability is temporarily placed in a residential program outside the district of residence, the administrator of the court placing the pupil must send timely written notice of the placement to the district of residence. The district of placement may contract with a residential facility to provide instruction by teachers licensed by the state Board of Teaching. For purposes of this section, the state correctional facilities operated on a fee-for-service basis are considered to be residential programs for care and treatment.

(f) The district of residence must include the pupil in its residence count of pupil units and pay tuition as provided in section 123A.488 to the district providing the instruction. Transportation costs must be paid by the district providing the transportation and the state must pay transportation aid to that district. For purposes of computing state transportation aid, pupils governed by this subdivision must be included in the disabled transportation category. Minn. Stat. § 125A.51.