(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, section 79-611 does not apply to the transportation of an option student. The parent or legal guardian of the option student shall be responsible for required transportation. A school district may, upon mutual agreement with the parent or legal guardian of an option student, provide transportation to the option student on the same basis as provided for resident students. The school district may charge the parents of each option student transported a fee sufficient to recover the additional costs of such transportation.

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 79-241

  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • School: means a school under the jurisdiction of a school board authorized by Chapter 79. See Nebraska Statutes 79-101
  • School board: means the governing body of any school district. See Nebraska Statutes 79-101
  • School year: means (a) for elementary grades other than kindergarten, the time equivalent to at least one thousand thirty-two instructional hours and (b) for high school grades, the time equivalent to at least one thousand eighty instructional hours. See Nebraska Statutes 79-101
  • State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Year: shall mean calendar year. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801

(2) Option students who qualify for free lunches shall be eligible for either free transportation or transportation reimbursement as described in section 79-611 from the option school district pursuant to policies established by the school district in compliance with this section, except that they shall be reimbursed at the rate of one hundred forty-two and one-half percent of the mandatorily established mileage rate provided in section 81-1176 for each mile actually and necessarily traveled on each day of attendance by which the distance traveled one way from the residence of such student to the schoolhouse exceeds three miles.

(3) For open enrollment option students who received free transportation for school year 2016-17 pursuant to subsection (2) of section 79-611, the school board of the option school district shall continue to provide free transportation for the duration of the student’s status as an open enrollment option student or for the duration of the student’s enrollment in a pathway pursuant to subsection (3) of section 79-2110 unless the student relocates to a school district that would have prevented the student from qualifying for free transportation for the 2016-17 school year pursuant to subsection (2) of section 79-611.

(4) For option students verified as having a disability as defined in section 79-1118.01, the transportation services set forth in section 79-1129 shall be provided by the resident school district. The State Department of Education shall reimburse the resident school district for the cost of transportation in accordance with section 79-1144.