Almost 150 private school students who Columbus City Schools said were ineligible for transportation have challenged that decision.
The district notified 1,380 charter and nonpublic school students that they wouldn’t receive busing this school year because of a state law that says public schools don't have to provide transportation if students are traveling more than 30 minutes.
The change came after years of bus driver shortages and an increase in the number of families taking taxpayer-funded vouchers to send their kids to private schools.
CCS told families it used Google Maps to run more than 21,200 routes between students' nearest public schools and their private schools of choice. CCS said some drivers also traveled some routes in order to prove they actually took 30 minutes or more.
Families were given the option to request an official timing from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. The district said as of Sept. 3, 149 students had done just that.
Official route timings were set to begin Sept. 3 and take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during times when students would actually be heading to or from school.
The Columbus Board of Education earlier this year also declared 1,378 students impractical to bus and offered financial compensation to the students’ parents. At their Sept. 3 meeting, the board declared an additional 309 students impractical to transport.
The Department of Education sets compensation rates, which this year are between $583 and $1,167 per student.
After a warning to resume busing, most or all of the effected students, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit in the Ohio Supreme Court against Columbus City Schools.
Yost said the district has "blatantly failed to comply" with state law requiring public school districts to transport both their students and those in the district limits who are attending private or charter schools.
“Students deemed impractical to transport and their student families have been denied the freedom of choice of educational institution," Yost wrote in the lawsuit. "Moreover, many families have been forced to endure financial hardships to acquire the transportation for their children that the Columbus School Board has refused to provide."
The district said in a statement that it "believes its actions are consistent with the laws promulgated by the General Assembly and is complying with its legal obligations to transport students."
Yost’s original warning letter to Columbus City Schools Superintendent Angela Chapman also alleged the district did not provide a legally required 30-day notice to families who would not receive busing.
The district transportation office has since said that the first of two letters sent to families was mailed on June 18. The second was sent electronically on Aug. 20, according to the district.
Columbus City Schools’ first day of classes was Aug. 21.
The district is currently transporting around 37,000 students to 113 Columbus City Schools buildings and about 9,000 kids to 167 private and charter school buildings.
