Indiana's constitution requires the legislature to provide "a uniform system of public education," which has come to mean "free public education." What that means exactly has been a matter of debate, and now the issue is likely to heat up. When some school districts a couple of years ago began to start charging fees for bus transportation, Attorney General Greg Zoeller issued an opinion (background here) saying they violated the state constitution because transportation was part of what made up a uniform system, so "the public" had to pay for it.
The Franklin Township school district thinks it has found a way around this little problem. It sold all its buses to an education cooperative, which now provides the transportation and charges a nearly $50-per-child monthly fee. Not so fast, says a parent who has filed a suit that may achieve class-action status:
"It is our belief we are on solid legal ground with the system that we have put in place," Superintendent Walter Bourke said. He said parents contract directly with bus drivers, with the Central Indiana Educational Service Center as a party, and that the school district isn't involved.
But Frazier said the system is just a dodge by the district to get around a provision of the state constitution that requires free public school tuition.
"It tried to do through the back door what it couldn't do through the front," Frazier said. "They're trying to circumvent the constitution."
The attorney general is said to be reviewing Franklin's setup, and I suspect the district will lose, either in an attorney general's opinion (not binding, but with repercussions) or in an eventual court decision. Free is free, and this kind of sleight-of-hand seems a pretty blatant attempt to get around an obligation.
On the other hand, I've never understood why textbooks aren't considered part of a uniform system of public education. Parents have to pay for them, and somehow that's not considered a part of the curriculum that must be provided for free. But textbooks are even more important to education than transportation. It might be a hardship, but parents can find a way to get their kids to school without the bus. But if you ain't got the books, you're pretty much screwed.
