Reminder: School District Obligations to Transport Pupils to Private Schools

School districts are often unsure about their obligations to provide transportation to pupils residing in their districts. In understanding their duties, districts must be aware that their obligations may extend beyond their public schools. In some circumstances, districts must provide transportation to and from private schools, even if the private school is located outside the boundary of the public school district.

General Duty to Provide Transportation— In Wisconsin, school districts must provide transportation to and from school for all pupils who reside in the school district two or more miles from the nearest attendance school. School districts also have permissive authority to provide transportation for these pupils to and from childcare programs. Wis. Stat. § 121.54(2).

Transportation for Pupils Attending Private Schools — The duty to provide transportation to and from school also applies to pupils attending private schools. Each school district in Wisconsin operating high school grades must provide transportation to pupils attending private schools if:

1. The private school is located two or more miles from the pupil’s residence;
2. The pupil resides in the private school’s attendance area;
3. The pupil resides in the public school district; and
4. The private school is located within the school district OR not more than five miles beyond the boundaries of the school district measured along the usually traveled route.

If any one of the above conditions are not met, the school district is not required to provide transportation to the private school. For example, a school district is not required to provide transportation to and from school for a pupil attending a private school who resides outside the school district’s boundaries, even if the pupil attends a private school within the school district’s boundaries. Wis. Stat. § 121.54(2)(b)1. Alternatively, if the pupil attending a private school lives within the district, but the school is within two miles of the pupil’s residence, the district has no obligation to provide transport for that pupil to and from school.

Notifications to School Boards—By April 1 of each year, private schools must submit a proposed attendance area for the subsequent school year to the school board of each school district with territory within the proposed attendance area. If the proposal is not submitted by April 1, the existing attendance area remains in effect for the upcoming school year. Wis. Stat. § 121.54(2)(b)3.

Additionally, no later than May 15 of each year, private schools must notify each school board of the names, grade levels, and locations of all pupils eligible for transportation for the upcoming school year. The school board has authority to extend the May 15 deadline. Wis. Stat. § 121.54(2)(b)4.

What to Watch For—In the spring, school boards or their designee, should review all notices received from private schools and assess whether transportation must be provided to the pupils listed in the notice. If the school board wishes to extend its obligations to provide transportation to pupils attending private schools beyond what is required in the law, the district must obtain consent by electors at the annual or special meeting. Wis. Stat. § 121.54(2)(c).