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The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us) STATE OF MICHIGAN FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL Opinion No. 5754 August 7, 1980 SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Transportation to and from school of pupils living within the city limits Transportation of pupils to and from school living less than one mile from the school they attend The board of education of a fourth class school district must provide transportation to all students living more than one and one-half miles from the school they attend, including those students living within the city limits. The board of education of a fourth class school district may not provide transportation to students living less than one mile from the school they attend in the absence of approval of the electors voting on the question. Honorable Harry Gast State Senator The Capitol The information accompanying your opinion request indicates that, in 1956, the voters in a fourth class school district approved the following ballot proposition: 'Shall School District No. 31, Cass County, Michigan, hereafter transport those pupils in the district living outside the limits of the City of Dowagiac more than one mile from the school they attend.' In 1980 the voters in the same school district defeated the following ballot proposition: 'Shall transportation of pupils residing with Dowagiac Union School District, Cass, Van Buren and Berrien Counties, Michigan, which was approved by electors in 1956 be changed to provide transportation services only for resident pupils for whom the school district is eligible to receive state school aid for transportation, except that transportation is to be provided for those resident pupils enrolled in grades K through 4 living more than one-half mile by the nearest traveled route from the school of their attendance?' Based on those facts, you have requested my opinion whether the board of education of the fourth class school district in question may provide transportation to students living within the city limits and to students living less than one mile from the school they attend. The School Code of 1976, 1976 PA 451; MCLA 380.1 et seq; MSA 15.4001 et seq, Sec. 141, provides that '[t]he board of a fourth class school district may provide for the transportation of pupils within the district if authorized by a majority vote of the school electors of the district voting on the question at an annual or special election. . . .' Thus, the transportation ballot proposition approved by the voters in 1956 is binding upon the board of education to the extent that such ballot proposition is in conformity with the statutory enactments of the Michigan legislature. In the School Code of 1976, supra, Sec. 1321(1) provides: 'A board of a school district providing transportation for its resident pupils, except handicapped pupils transported under article 3, shall provide transportation for each resident pupil in the elementary and secondary grades for whom the school district is eligible to receive state school aid for transportation. . . .' (a1) (Emphasis added.) The school district in question is already providing transportation to some students in the elementary and secondary grades pursuant to the 1956 ballot proposition. The School Code of 1976, supra, Sec. 1321(1), plainly requires, therefore, that all students living more than one and one-half miles from the schools they attend must be transported by the school district, including those students living within the city limits. See OAG, 1979-1980, No 5455, p ___ (March 9, 1979), and authorities cited therein. In all other respects, the 1956 ballot proposition is in conformity with the statutes enacted by the Michigan legislature. It is, therefore, my opinion that the board of education of the school district in question must provide transportation to all students living more than one and one-half miles from the schools they attend, including those students living within the city limits. It is also my opinion that the board of education of a fourth class school district may not provide transportation to students living less than one mile from the school they attend in the absence of the approval of the electors of the school district voting on the question of providing such transportation. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General (a1)
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