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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Attorney General says it’s unconstitutional to charge public school students to ride the bus.
The AG’s Office issued the nine-page legal opinion Monday after the Indiana State Board of Accounts questioned whether
school corporations could legally require students to pay a bus rider fee. Several school corporations around the state proposed
or planned on charging students to ride the bus as a way to offset rising costs and declining revenue.
The attorney general used the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision on permissible fees in Nagy, et al. v. Evansville-Vanderburgh
School Corp., 844 N.E.2d 481 (Ind. 2006), to determine that charging the bus fees is unconstitutional under Article 8,
Section 1 of the state’s constitution. Attorney General Greg Zoeller determined the transportation of students to and
from school is deemed a “part of a public education,” and the General Assembly hasn’t provided the governing
body of any school corporation with the authority to assess, charge or collect a bus rider fee.
The opinion isn’t legally binding, but serves as a guideline.
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