281-43.1(285) Intra-area education agency routes.
- 43.1(1) Bus routes within the boundaries of transporting districts as well as within designated areas must be as efficient and economical as possible under existing conditions. Duplication of service facilities shall be avoided insofar as possible.
- 43.1(2) A route shall provide a load of at least 75 percent capacity of the bus.
- 43.1(3) The riding time, under normal conditions, from the designated stop to the attendance center, or on the return trip, shall not exceed 75 minutes for high school pupils or 60 minutes for elementary pupils. (These limits may be waived upon request of the parents.)
- 43.1(4) Pupils whose residence is within two miles of an established stop on a bus route are within the area served by the bus and are not eligible for parent or private transportation at public expense to the school served by the bus, except as follows:
- Bus is fully loaded.
- Physical handicap makes bus transportation impractical.
285.1 When entitled to state aid. (Transportation only)
- The board of directors in every school district shall provide transportation, either directly or by reimbursement for transportation, for all resident pupils attending public school, kindergarten through twelfth grade, except that:
- Elementary pupils shall be entitled to transportation only if they live more than two miles from the school designated for attendance.
- High school pupils shall be entitled to transportation only if they live more than three miles from the school designated for attendance.
- Children attending prekindergarten programs offered or sponsored by the district or nonpublic school and approved by the department of education or department of human services may be provided transportation services. However, transportation services provided nonpublic school children are not eligible for reimbursement under this chapter.
- Districts are not required to maintain seating space on school buses for students who are otherwise to be provided transportation under this subsection if the students do not or will not regularly utilize the district's transportation service for extended periods during the school year. The student, or the student's parent or legal guardian if the student is less than eighteen years of age, shall be notified by the district before transportation services may be suspended, and the suspension may continue until the student, or the student's parent or legal guardian, notifies the district that regular student ridership will continue.
For the purposes of this subsection, high school means a school which commences with either grade nine or grade ten, as determined by the board of directors of the school district or by the governing authority of the nonpublic school in the case of nonpublic schools.
Boards in their discretion may provide transportation for some or all resident pupils attending public school or pupils who attend nonpublic schools who are not entitled to transportation. Boards in their discretion may collect from the parent or guardian of the pupil not more than the pro rata cost for such optional transportation, determined as provided in subsection 12.
- Any pupil may be required to meet a school bus on the approved route a distance of not to exceed three-fourths of a mile without reimbursement.