CLEVELAND — Cleveland Metropolitan Schools District is offering up to $600 to parents of students who do not attend public schools in the district to transport their children to and from school.
For many parents, picking up their children from school is an option, while others have no choice.
State law requires public schools like CMSD to provide transportation for district students and students who attend charter and private schools. In Cleveland, parents can be paid up to $600 for providing transportation to non-district schools.
David Carney, a Case Western Law Professor, said Ohio law requires school districts to provide transportation for children who live more than two miles from their assigned school.
"Those rules apply, were originally written to apply to public schools, but they also apply to kids attending parochial schools, vouchers, charters, etc. But there's an exception," said Carney.
That exception is if the district doesn't have the capacity to do it, which CMSD said it doesn't. The school board passed a resolution stating that transporting about 1,700 students who don't attend district public schools was impractical.
"It's much more common in these days with increased enrollment in charter and voucher schools because that makes planning a bus route must much more complicated," said Carney.
According to school board documents, the price tag for paying parents to send their children to private schools is increasing from $600,000 when they had 2400 children in 2015 to $1.1 million for fewer children this year.
To qualify for the reimbursement, parents must put in an application and meet a list of guidelines, which include the following:
1. The time and distance to school.
2. The number of pupils.
3. The cost of providing transportation.
4. Whether similar and equivalent service is provided to other pupils eligible for transportation.
5. Whether and to what extent the additional service unavoidably disrupts current transportation schedules.
6. Whether other reimbursable types of transportation are available.
But, many parents don't even know they have the option.
"I feel like they should know about this; no matter how much money you make, you bring your kids to school, you should get reimbursed," said Tricia Bruno, a parent.
Bruno has been reimbursed for three years for driving her children to the religious Urban Community School, which makes a difference to her.
"As far as gas, maybe tires, we have a lot of bad snow, oil change, just little things like that; that's what the reimbursement helps," said Bruno.
Individuals who are not eligible include those who live within a mile of the school or more than 30 minutes away.
Click here to access the application.
For more information, click here.
