39807.5. (a) When a local educational agency provides for the transportation of pupils to and from schools, including the governing board of a school district pursuant to Section 39800, or between the regular full-time day schools they would attend and the regular full-time occupational training classes attended by them as provided by a regional occupational center or program, the governing board may require the parents and guardians of all or some of the pupils transported, to pay a portion of the cost of this transportation in an amount determined by the governing board.
(b) The amount determined by the governing board pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be no greater than the statewide average nonsubsidized cost of providing this transportation to a pupil on a publicly owned or operated transit system as determined by the Superintendent, in cooperation with the Department of Transportation.
(c) For purposes of this section, “nonsubsidized cost” means actual operating costs less federal subventions.
(d) The governing board shall exempt from these charges pupils of parents and guardians who are unduplicated pupils, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 42238.02. Nothing in this provision shall prevent the governing board from providing transportation services at no cost.
(e) A charge under this section may not be made for the transportation of individuals with exceptional needs as defined in Section 56026.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to sanction, perpetuate, or promote the racial or ethnic segregation of pupils in the schools.
(g) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a school district or a county office of education.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 52, Sec. 15. (AB 181) Effective June 30, 2022.)