State Attorney General: Prince George’s County Schools Proposal Could Be Unconstitutional

An opinion by the state attorney general could halt a Prince George’s County Schools proposal to charge students for busing to specialty schools because the plan raises “substantial constitutional issues.”

A March 25 letter from the state attorney general’s office, discussed during Tuesday’s Prince George’s County Council meeting, could send school board officials back to the drawing board on ways to save money amid an $85 million school system deficit.

Schools officials had proposed saving an estimated $7.8 million by charging for transportation for students in special programs.

“We’ll have to find money to restore [the transportation],” said council member Mary A. Lehman (D-Dist. 1) of Laurel, who is also vice chair of the county Health, Education, and Human Services committee, which approves the school board’s budget. “Those programs would fall apart completely [without transportation].”

About 7,500 students are bused each day throughout the county to the programs, which include Visual and Performing Arts, Science and Technology, Montessori and French Immersion. It costs an average .

After cutting the transportation, school officials began drafting a plan to charge for transportation to specialty schools.  But after furious parents told the council that would mean hardship for parents and threaten the existence of the programs, Delegate Jolene Ivey (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly asked the state attorney general to weigh in on the constitutionality of the plan.

“I have four children in specialty programs and wasn’t relishing the idea of paying for transportation, so I’m relieved, just like many of you are, that the attorney general has found that we can’t take this path,” she said in a statement to county parents. “I know the money will have to come from somewhere to pay for all the programs that make for a great education for our children.“

The letter from the state’s attorney general said that the “General Assembly has not authorized the imposition of fees for transporting students to school… Thus, it is in my view that without authorization from the General Assembly, no county, including Prince George’s, has the power to impose a charge for transporting public school students to and from school.”

Lynn McCawley, a spokeswoman for Prince George’s County schools, said the attorney general’s opinion was under review by the school system’s general counsel and that a final decision on  transportation to specialty programs will not be issued until April.