STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 6047

March 25, 1982

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS:

Authority of board of education to charge students a fee for transportation to nonmandatory and noncredit events sponsored by the school district

Authority of board of education to charge students a fee for transportation to mandatory events sponsored by the school district or to events where attendance is related to achievement of academic credit

The board of education of a school district has statutory authority to charge students a fee, not to exceed the cost of the expense of the trip, for transporting students to and from nonmandatory and noncredit events sponsored by the school district.

The board of education of a school district is not authorized to charge students a fee for transportation to mandatory events or to events where attendance is related to achievement of academic credit.

Honorable Harold J. Scott

State Senator

The Capitol

Lansing, Michigan

You have requested my opinion on a question which may be stated as follows:

The board of education of a school district possesses such powers as the Legislature confers upon it either expressly or by reasonably necessary implication in statutes enacted by the Legislature. Senghas v L'Anse Creuse Public Schools, 368 Mich 557; 118 NW2d 975 (1962), Singer Architectural Services Co v Doyle, 74 Mich App 485; 254 NW2d 587, lv app den, 402 Mich 811 (1977).

OAG, 1981-1982, No 5974, p 357 (September 3, 1981), considered whether boards of education have the statutory authority to charge students a fee to participate in interscholastic athletic activities and concluded that boards of education lack the statutory authority to charge students fees in connection with their participation in interscholastic athletic activities where the fee is for the purpose of financing part of the general cost of providing such athletic activities. Here, the issue raised is whether boards of education have the statutory authority to charge a fee for transporting students to and from nonmandatory and noncredit events sponsored by the school district.

In the School Code of 1976, 1976 PA 451; MCLA 380.1 et seq; MSA 15.4001 et seq, Sec. 1332(1), the Legislature has provided:

OAG, 1979-1980, No 5837, p 1110 (December 11, 1980) concluded that, consistent with Const 1963, art 8, Sec. 2 and the holdings in Bond v Ann Arbor School District, 383 Mich 693; 178 NW2d 484 (1970), and Paulson v Minidoka County School District No. 331, 93 Idaho 469; 463 P2d 935 (1970), a board of education may not charge for transportation to and from school for the regular school day, but may charge for transportation to and from voluntary, noncredit school sponsored events under the express grant of statutory authority conferred by the School Code of 1976, Sec. 1332(1) supra.

The application of the School Code of 1976, Sec. 1332(1), supra, may be illustrated by the following examples. A fee for transporting pupils as spectators to attend a distant football game involving their school is clearly permissible provided attendance is voluntary. On the other hand, a fee for transporting the members of the football team to a distant game is clearly precluded since, although no academic credit is necessarily involved, attendance by the players is clearly mandatory in the sense that where a person is a player on the team attendance as a player is mandatory. Also, students taking a drama course for credit may be charged for transportation to a play provided attendance at the play is voluntary and the grade and credit for the course are not affected by whether one attends the play. On the other hand, students taking a music course for credit may not be charged for transportation to attend a musical performance where an examination in the course includes questions on the performance attended since attendance at the event is related to the student's academic credit.

It should be emphasized, however, that such fee may be for transportation expenses only. As promulgated by the State Board of Education, 2, 1979 Michigan Administrative Code, R 340.242(1), in pertinent part, states:

The 'nonmandatory event' is defined to mean 'an activity in which pupils are engaged at their own volition and which does not in any way affect promotion from grade to grade or high school graduation' and 'noncredit event' means 'a student activity in which pupils are not required to attend in order to receive full credit for a prescribed course of study or to earn a higher grade in a particular course.' 2, 1979 Michigan Administrative Code, R 340.241.

Although a board of education may collect a fee for transporting students to and from nonmandatory and noncredit events, the board is not required to do so. 2, 1979 Michigan Administrative Code, R 340.243, states:

It is my opinion, therefore, that the board of education of a school district has statutory authority to charge students a fee, not to exceed the cost of the expense of the trip, for transporting them to and from nonmandatory and noncredit events sponsored by the school district.

Frank J. Kelley