1.    After taking into account the best interests of all affected parties, the board of a school district may elect to send its students to another school district. In this instance, the board shall pay for the students’ tuition and transportation. The board may arrange, and when petitioned to do so by qualified electors of the district equal in number to at least a majority of those who voted in the most recent annual school district election shall arrange, with other boards to send students to the other districts and to pay for their tuition and transportation.

2.    If a district does not provide educational services to an entire grade level, the students in that grade level may attend a public school of their choice outside their district of residence without going through the procedures outlined in section 15.1-29-05. The board of the students’ school district of residence shall pay for the students’ tuition and transportation. For purposes of determining whether educational services are provided to an entire grade level, districts cooperating with each other in the joint provision of    educational services under a plan approved by the superintendent of public instruction are considered to be a single district.