2006 Minnesota Statutes

123B.92 TRANSPORTATION AID ENTITLEMENT.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section and section 125A.76, the terms
defined in this subdivision have the meanings given to them.
(a) "Actual expenditure per pupil transported in the regular and excess transportation
categories" means the quotient obtained by dividing:
(1) the sum of:
(i) all expenditures for transportation in the regular category, as defined in paragraph (b),
clause (1), and the excess category, as defined in paragraph (b), clause (2), plus
(ii) an amount equal to one year's depreciation on the district's school bus fleet and mobile
units computed on a straight line basis at the rate of 15 percent per year for districts operating
a program under section 124D.128 for grades 1 to 12 for all students in the district and 12-1/2
percent per year for other districts of the cost of the fleet, plus
(iii) an amount equal to one year's depreciation on the district's type three school buses, as
defined in section 169.01, subdivision 6, clause (5), which must be used a majority of the time for
pupil transportation purposes, computed on a straight line basis at the rate of 20 percent per year
of the cost of the type three school buses by:
(2) the number of pupils eligible for transportation in the regular category, as defined in
paragraph (b), clause (1), and the excess category, as defined in paragraph (b), clause (2).
(b) "Transportation category" means a category of transportation service provided to pupils
as follows:
(1) Regular transportation is:
(i) transportation to and from school during the regular school year for resident elementary
pupils residing one mile or more from the public or nonpublic school they attend, and resident
secondary pupils residing two miles or more from the public or nonpublic school they attend,
excluding desegregation transportation and noon kindergarten transportation; but with respect to
transportation of pupils to and from nonpublic schools, only to the extent permitted by sections
123B.84 to 123B.87;
(ii) transportation of resident pupils to and from language immersion programs;
(iii) transportation of a pupil who is a custodial parent and that pupil's child between the
pupil's home and the child care provider and between the provider and the school, if the home and
provider are within the attendance area of the school;
(iv) transportation to and from or board and lodging in another district, of resident pupils
of a district without a secondary school; and
(v) transportation to and from school during the regular school year required under
subdivision 3 for nonresident elementary pupils when the distance from the attendance area
border to the public school is one mile or more, and for nonresident secondary pupils when the
distance from the attendance area border to the public school is two miles or more, excluding
desegregation transportation and noon kindergarten transportation.
For the purposes of this paragraph, a district may designate a licensed day care facility,
school day care facility, respite care facility, the residence of a relative, or the residence of a
person chosen by the pupil's parent or guardian as the home of a pupil for part or all of the day, if
requested by the pupil's parent or guardian, and if that facility or residence is within the attendance
area of the school the pupil attends.
(2) Excess transportation is:
(i) transportation to and from school during the regular school year for resident secondary
pupils residing at least one mile but less than two miles from the public or nonpublic school they
attend, and transportation to and from school for resident pupils residing less than one mile from
school who are transported because of extraordinary traffic, drug, or crime hazards; and
(ii) transportation to and from school during the regular school year required under
subdivision 3 for nonresident secondary pupils when the distance from the attendance area border
to the school is at least one mile but less than two miles from the public school they attend, and
for nonresident pupils when the distance from the attendance area border to the school is less
than one mile from the school and who are transported because of extraordinary traffic, drug, or
crime hazards.
(3) Desegregation transportation is transportation within and outside of the district during the
regular school year of pupils to and from schools located outside their normal attendance areas
under a plan for desegregation mandated by the commissioner or under court order.
(4) "Transportation services for pupils with disabilities" is:
(i) transportation of pupils with disabilities who cannot be transported on a regular school
bus between home or a respite care facility and school;
(ii) necessary transportation of pupils with disabilities from home or from school to other
buildings, including centers such as developmental achievement centers, hospitals, and treatment
centers where special instruction or services required by sections 125A.03 to 125A.24, 125A.26
to 125A.48, and 125A.65 are provided, within or outside the district where services are provided;
(iii) necessary transportation for resident pupils with disabilities required by sections
125A.12, and 125A.26 to 125A.48;
(iv) board and lodging for pupils with disabilities in a district maintaining special classes;
(v) transportation from one educational facility to another within the district for resident
pupils enrolled on a shared-time basis in educational programs, and necessary transportation
required by sections 125A.18, and 125A.26 to 125A.48, for resident pupils with disabilities
who are provided special instruction and services on a shared-time basis or if resident pupils
are not transported, the costs of necessary travel between public and private schools or neutral
instructional sites by essential personnel employed by the district's program for children with a
disability;
(vi) transportation for resident pupils with disabilities to and from board and lodging
facilities when the pupil is boarded and lodged for educational purposes; and
(vii) services described in clauses (i) to (vi), when provided for pupils with disabilities in
conjunction with a summer instructional program that relates to the pupil's individual education
plan or in conjunction with a learning year program established under section 124D.128.
For purposes of computing special education base revenue under section 125A.76,
subdivision 2 , the cost of providing transportation for children with disabilities includes (A)
the additional cost of transporting a homeless student from a temporary nonshelter home in
another district to the school of origin, or a formerly homeless student from a permanent home in
another district to the school of origin but only through the end of the academic year; and (B)
depreciation on district-owned school buses purchased after July 1, 2005, and used primarily for
transportation of pupils with disabilities, calculated according to paragraph (a), clauses (ii) and
(iii). Depreciation costs included in the disabled transportation category must be excluded in
calculating the actual expenditure per pupil transported in the regular and excess transportation
categories according to paragraph (a).
(5) "Nonpublic nonregular transportation" is:
(i) transportation from one educational facility to another within the district for resident
pupils enrolled on a shared-time basis in educational programs, excluding transportation for
nonpublic pupils with disabilities under clause (4);
(ii) transportation within district boundaries between a nonpublic school and a public school
or a neutral site for nonpublic school pupils who are provided pupil support services pursuant to
section 123B.44; and
(iii) late transportation home from school or between schools within a district for nonpublic
school pupils involved in after-school activities.
(c) "Mobile unit" means a vehicle or trailer designed to provide facilities for educational
programs and services, including diagnostic testing, guidance and counseling services, and
health services. A mobile unit located off nonpublic school premises is a neutral site as defined
in section 123B.41, subdivision 13.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1999 c 241 art 1 s 69]
    Subd. 3. Alternative attendance programs. A district that enrolls nonresident pupils in
programs under sections 124D.03, 124D.06, 124D.08, 123A.05 to 123A.08, and 124D.68, must
provide authorized transportation to the pupil within the attendance area for the school that the
pupil attends at the same level of service that is provided to resident pupils within the attendance
area. The resident district need not provide or pay for transportation between the pupil's residence
and the district's border.
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1999 c 241 art 1 s 69]
    Subd. 5. District reports. (a) Each district must report data to the department as required
by the department to account for transportation expenditures.
(b) Salaries and fringe benefits of district employees whose primary duties are other than
transportation, including central office administrators and staff, building administrators and staff,
teachers, social workers, school nurses, and instructional aides, must not be included in a district's
transportation expenditures, except that a district may include salaries and benefits according
to paragraph (c) for (1) an employee designated as the district transportation director, (2) an
employee providing direct support to the transportation director, or (3) an employee providing
direct transportation services such as a bus driver or bus aide.
(c) Salaries and fringe benefits of the district employees listed in paragraph (b), clauses
(1), (2), and (3), who work part time in transportation and part time in other areas must not be
included in a district's transportation expenditures unless the district maintains documentation of
the employee's time spent on pupil transportation matters in the form and manner prescribed by
the department.
(d) Pupil transportation expenditures, excluding expenditures for capital outlay, leased
buses, student board and lodging, crossing guards, and aides on buses, must be allocated
among transportation categories based on cost-per-mile, cost-per-student, cost-per-hour, or
cost-per-route, regardless of whether the transportation services are provided on district-owned or
contractor-owned school buses. Expenditures for school bus driver salaries and fringe benefits may
either be directly charged to the appropriate transportation category or may be allocated among
transportation categories based on cost-per-mile, cost-per-student, cost-per-hour, or cost-per-route.
Expenditures by private contractors or individuals who provide transportation exclusively in
one transportation category must be charged directly to the appropriate transportation category.
Transportation services provided by contractor-owned school bus companies incorporated under
different names but owned by the same individual or group of individuals must be treated as the
same company for cost allocation purposes.
    Subd. 6.[Repealed, 1999 c 241 art 1 s 69]
    Subd. 7.[Repealed, 1999 c 241 art 1 s 69]
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1999 c 241 art 1 s 69]
    Subd. 9. Nonpublic pupil transportation aid. (a) A district's nonpublic pupil transportation
aid for the 1996-1997 and later school years for transportation services for nonpublic school
pupils according to sections 123B.88, 123B.84 to 123B.86, and this section, equals the sum of the
amounts computed in paragraphs (b) and (c). This aid does not limit the obligation to transport
pupils under sections 123B.84 to 123B.87.
(b) For regular and excess transportation according to subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clauses
(1) and (2), an amount equal to the product of:
(1) the district's actual expenditure per pupil transported in the regular and excess
transportation categories during the second preceding school year; times
(2) the number of nonpublic school pupils residing in the district who receive regular or
excess transportation service or reimbursement for the current school year; times
(3) the ratio of the formula allowance pursuant to section 126C.10, subdivision 2, for the
current school year to the formula allowance pursuant to section 126C.10, subdivision 2, for
the second preceding school year.
(c) For nonpublic nonregular transportation according to subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause
(5), an amount equal to the product of:
(1) the district's actual expenditure for nonpublic nonregular transportation during the second
preceding school year; times
(2) the ratio of the formula allowance pursuant to section 126C.10, subdivision 2, for the
current school year to the formula allowance pursuant to section 126C.10, subdivision 2, for
the second preceding school year.
(d) Notwithstanding the amount of the formula allowance for fiscal year 2004 in section
126C.10, subdivision 2, the commissioner shall use the amount of the formula allowance for the
current year minus $415 in determining the nonpublic pupil transportation revenue in paragraphs
(b) and (c) for fiscal year 2004.
    Subd. 10.[Repealed, 1999 c 241 art 1 s 69]
History: 1979 c 334 art 2 s 8; 1980 c 609 art 2 s 2; 1981 c 356 s 167; 1981 c 358 art 2 s
3-13; 1Sp1981 c 2 s 8; 3Sp1981 c 2 art 2 s 9; 1982 c 548 art 2 s 3; 1983 c 314 art 2 s 2; 1Sp1985
c 12 art 2 s 3-10; 1Sp1986 c 1 art 9 s 7,8; 1987 c 398 art 2 s 2-7; art 7 s 42; 1988 c 486 s 35,36;
1988 c 718 art 2 s 5; art 7 s 29; 1989 c 222 s 14-25; 1989 c 329 art 2 s 3,9; 1990 c 562 art 2 s
5-7; 1991 c 130 s 37; 1991 c 199 art 2 s 10; 1991 c 265 art 2 s 6-14; art 3 s 38; 1991 c 277 s 17;
1992 c 499 art 12 s 29; 1993 c 224 art 2 s 5-9; art 7 s 10,11; 1994 c 647 art 2 s 2; art 3 s 24; art
12 s 8,9; art 13 s 7; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 2 s 11-24; art 4 s 30; art 16 s 13; 1996 c 412 art 2 s 9-12;
1Sp1997 c 4 art 1 s 19-24; 1998 c 397 art 7 s 31-34,164; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 5 s 55; art 6 s
23,24; 1999 c 241 art 1 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 5 art 2 s 7; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 1 s 55 subd 2; 1Sp2003 c 9 art
1 s 9-11; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 1 s 9,10; 2006 c 263 art 2 s 11,12