INDIANAPOLIS | School corporations that continue to charge student transportation fees may by subject to legal action, state Attorney General Greg Zoeller warned Tuesday.
"There could be consequences for schools if they continue to charge after the State Board of Accounts has received this opinion," Zoeller said.
In a formal opinion issued to the State Board of Accounts on Monday, Zoeller said the Indiana Constitution does not permit schools to charge students a fee for bus rides to school. Transportation to school is a necessary element of a school's activity and therefore falls under the meaning of tuition, which the Constitution says must be "without charge."
Several region school corporations currently charge a transportation fee, including the School Town of Munster, which charges $50 a semester. The State Board of Accounts, an auditing agency, repeatedly has warned Munster, Hobart, Lake Central and other schools that a bus fee is not allowed, but the schools claimed their lawyers approved the fee.
"In a future case, I think the State Board of Accounts would find more than just a warning that it was not allowed, I think they would likely send it for action," Zoeller said.
The Republican attorney general would not specify what action might be taken. However, in other cases involving improper use of government funds, the attorney general or county prosecutors have sought civil penalties against offenders and local governments have lost state funds equivalent to nonpermitted charges.
In an interview with The Times, Zoeller explained that transportation fees are different than book rental fees or technology fees because the General Assembly specifically has authorized schools to charge fees for books and computers.
"The school funding formula provides for transportation, so the fact that they're included in that and not excluded, as a statute, is why it's considered under the free tuition provisions, where school books and rentals are specifically allowed to be provided for a fee," Zoeller said.
Fees for transportation to athletics or extra-curricular activities also are acceptable because that service is over-and-above transportation to class, he said.
The General Assembly could pass a law when it convenes in January authorizing schools to charge a transportation fee. In the meantime, schools should no longer be charging student bus fees, Zoeller said.