School Boards to Plan Transporting Open Enrollment Students

Air Date:02/22/2011

By Travis Berg

The Senate passed a bill on transporting open enrollment students. Right now, multiple districts may send buses to other districts to pick up students. If they choose not to then transportation is left up to the parents. The proposal forces the districts to plan and agree how to more efficiently transport students. It could be through transfer stops, or door-to-door pick up. If they do not agree the Department of Education decides. Some opponents are concerned about the students' safety. However, Republican Senator Shantel Krebs says the bill provides safe options.

Krebs says, "We will definitely take into consideration, and never have changed the safety of students. That can be in the plan. If they want to be picked up door to door, let that parent talk about that and that can be in the plan. We're not changing that fact. We just want to make sure every school district agrees, so that one isn't getting hung, and one isn't get stretched out or pulled one way or another; because it's not fair to that school district if they're not ready for that child, and they haven't had an agreement from the receiving school district."
The measure passed with a 23 to 12 vote.

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