Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Columbus City Schools the district has to bus thousands of charter and non-public school students who were told they ineligible to receive transportation.
The district was relying on a law that states public schools don鈥檛 have to bus those students if their travel time is more than 30 minutes. About 1,380 students were notified that they wouldn鈥檛 receive bus transportation, according to CCS.
The board declared another 1,378 students were impractical to bus and instead offered financial compensation to the students' parents. This year, the Ohio Department of Education set compensation between $583 and $1,167 鈥� numbers based on last year's cost for bus services, according to a March DEW document.
Yost on Tuesday, saying it鈥檚 the district鈥檚 鈥渃lear legal obligation to transport most if not all鈥� of the affected students.
The letter also claims the district didn鈥檛 give families enough notice about the transportation changes.
鈥淔or many of the affected students, their families received no notice of the district鈥檚 refusal of transportation until days before the start of the school year,鈥� the letter reads, which goes on to say that state law requires at least 30 days notice.
Two ineligibility letters provided to 星空无限传媒 by Columbus City Schools are dated for June 18 and Aug. 20, but it is unclear when families received them.
Yost says his office could take the district to court if it doesn鈥檛 change its bus transportation strategy.
Columbus City Schools said Tuesday afternoon that it received the letter and "will respond as appropriate."
The school board is scheduled to meets 6 p.m. Tuesday at Columbus City Schools Southland Center located at 3700 South High Street.
