Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee introduces RS32642 to change school transportation funding, exclude some virtual students from reimbursement
Summary
RS32642 would revise the state's school transportation reimbursement formula, keep the block grant, exclude support units attributable to primarily virtual students, and allow local districts more flexibility on alternative vehicles and training requirements.
Representative Dan Garner introduced RS32642 to the House Committee on Education and asked the committee to introduce the bill for further consideration.
Garner said the RS is similar to a previously proposed measure but was refiled after changes. The bill renames school districts in the text as "authorized transportation districts," clarifies reimbursement for virtual students and accepts districts' use of smaller alternative vehicles for specialized or small-group transport. "We've taken the block grant out," Garner said at one point while describing earlier versions; later discussion clarified the block grant remains part of the formula in the current RS.
Jack Nelson (District 26) described the financing history and a companion spreadsheet the sponsors distributed showing district-by-district effects. Nelson said the spreadsheet lists each district's total transportation costs, current reimbursements and proposed reimbursement percentages; he noted rural districts with long mileage may receive increases but not as large as some stakeholders seek. He also said $7,500,000 was appropriated by statute previously but never distributed; the spreadsheet would include that money in proposed reallocations.
Gideon Tullman of the State Department of Education told the committee the block grant language stays in the RS and highlighted a new line excluding "support units attributable to students educated primarily through home based or virtual means." "Transportation is bringing students to the schools to get educated. And for virtual programs, it's taking education to the students since they're not going to the schools," Tullman said, describing the rationale behind separating virtual programming from transportation reimbursement.
On licensing and safety, Garner said a commercial driver's license (CDL) will still be required for drivers of statutory school buses. Alternative vehicles would require additional training; whether that training must be a CDL is left to local districts. Representative Hawkins and others asked for clarification about passenger thresholds for CDL requirements; the sponsors said state statute on passenger thresholds continues to apply.
Representative Harris moved to introduce RS32642 and the committee voted by voice to introduce the RS; the chair announced the motion carried. Committee members requested an additional RS to separate virtual-student reimbursement language for further consideration.
No public testimony was recorded in this hearing on RS32642.
