STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 6097

August 31, 1982

HIGHWAYS AND ROADS:

Protection of school children using school crossings

MUNICIPALITIES:

Responsibility for protection of school children using school crossings

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS:

Protection of school children using school crossings

It is the responsibility of the law enforcement agency of each municipality bordering the center line of a street upon which a school crossing is located to provide school crossing guard services for the portion of the crossing under its jurisdiction, which responsibility may be shared by the municipalities through interlocal agreement.

Honorable David A. Plawecki

State Senator

The Capitol

Lansing, Michigan

You have requested my opinion on the following question:

1978 PA 227 added Secs. 613a, 613b, 613c and 613d to the Michigan Vehicle Code, 1949 PA 300, MCLA 257.1 et seq, MSA 9.1801 et seq. These four sections provide for the establishment of school crossings, define the manner in which school crossing guards shall perform their duties, designate the agency responsible for providing and training school crossing guards, and grant school crossing guards specific legal authority to control vehicular traffic while on duty.

Amendatory 1978 PA 227 transferred responsibility for school crossings and crossing guards from boards of education to the municipalities having jurisdiction of the crossings and imposed a duty on municipalities to operate and control these programs and to bear the financial obligation to pay for these programs. Pontiac Board of Education v City of Pontiac, 100 Mich App 52; 299 NW2d 37 (1980), lv den 410 Mich 905 (1981). 1949 PA 300, Sec. 613(c), supra, provides:

The Court of Appeals held, in Pontiac Board of Education v City of Pontiac, supra, that this statutory language imposed a clear legal duty on municipalities to pay for the cost of school crossing guards.

In view of the fact in the factual situation described in your inquiry the municipal boundary is the center line of the street, two local law enforcement agencies have immediate jurisdiction of the crossing. In such situation, each law enforcement agency is responsible for providing and paying for the school crossing guard services for the portion of the crossing within its jurisdiction.

In the interest of economy, it should be noted that, pursuant to 1967 Ex Sess PA 7; MCLA 124.501 et seq, MSA 5.4088(1) et seq, municipalities have authority to enter into interlocal agreements to jointly exercise their common powers and authority. Thus, in the situation posed in your inquiry, the two municipalities involved should agree to share responsibility for the crossing and crossing guard.

It is my opinion, therefore, that where a school crossing is located on a street, the center line of which is the boundary between two municipalities, the law enforcement agency of each municipality is responsible for providing the school crossing guard services for the portion of the crossing under its jurisdiction, which responsibility may be shared by the municipalities through interlocal agreement.

Frank J. Kelley