MS 2023-05-R-Revere-May-10-2023-Transportation-on-Public-School-Buses May 10, 2023

Can a Mississippi bus driver bring their own kids on the school bus when transporting students to a game or other school event?

Short answer: No. Mississippi law lets school buses carry students to athletic or extracurricular events only when those students are participating in the event. The driver's own kids, grandkids, or wards may not tag along, and there is no statutory workaround based on a shortage of drivers.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Subject

Transportation on Public School Buses

Recipient

Ryan Revere, Esq., Attorney, South Panola School District

Plain-English summary

A school district lawyer asked whether bus drivers could bring their own children, grandchildren, or wards along on the bus when transporting other students to school events, particularly during a bus driver shortage. The AG said no on every count. Section 37-41-27(1) lets districts use buses to move "participating students, teachers, coaches and sponsors" to athletic events, club events, and similar school-related activities, but the statute is limited to participants. Section 37-41-5, which allows extra-circumstance transportation, applies only to the trip "to the public school," not to school events. There is no other statutory path that lets a non-participating child ride simply because their guardian is the driver.

What this means for you

School superintendents and transportation directors

Driver shortages do not unlock new uses for the bus. If your existing rules permit non-participating students to ride along on activity trips, those rules conflict with state law, and the Auditor's office could view that ride as an unlawful use of district transportation. Tighten written transportation policies to limit activity-trip ridership to event participants plus the staff specifically permitted by Section 37-41-27(1).

School board attorneys

Be skeptical of any "this is the only way to keep the route running" exception that asks the board to bend Section 37-41-27. The AG signaled that the legislature, not the board, controls the list of permissible riders, and there is no home-rule workaround for school buses. If a hardship case arises, the lawful options are private transportation, a parent following in their own vehicle, or a legislative fix.

Bus drivers and parents

If you are a driver and your child relies on you for after-school care, you cannot just bring the child on the bus when you take the team to an away game. Talk to the district about scheduling, swapping routes, or arranging your own pickup before accepting the activity-trip assignment. A bus driver who lets their own non-participating child ride along is using public transportation outside the law and could face employment consequences.

Citizens and journalists

Mississippi's school-bus rules are tighter than most people assume. Routine "I'll just take my kid with me" arrangements are not allowed even when the trip is otherwise legitimate. If you are reporting on a transportation shortage, the AG's response confirms that statutory change, not a district workaround, is the remedy.

Common questions

Why can't a driver's child ride along to a school basketball game?
Section 37-41-27(1) limits bus use to participants, teachers, coaches, and sponsors. A child who is not on the team, in the band, or otherwise involved in the event does not fit any of those categories.

Does it matter that the district is short on drivers?
No. The AG specifically said Section 37-41-5's "extraordinary circumstances" provision allows expanded transportation only to school, not to events. Driver shortage is a hardship, not a legal exception.

What about a child the driver is babysitting after school?
Same answer. The relationship between the child and the driver does not change the statute. The child is not a participant.

Could the school board pass a local rule allowing this?
Section 37-41-21 makes it unlawful to transport students who are not entitled to bus transportation. A local rule cannot override that.

Are there any school-bus uses the statute does authorize besides event trips for participants?
Yes, Section 37-41-3 covers regular home-to-school routes (and includes some handicapped students and junior college students), and 37-41-27(1) covers participants in athletic events, 4-H, FFA, boys' and girls' clubs, and similar activities. Section 37-41-5 lets the school board and supervisors fund extra trips to school under unusual circumstances.

What should a parent do if their kid is being denied a ride?
Read the question above carefully. If your child is a participant in the event, they are eligible. If not, the answer from the AG is no, and the path is private transportation.

Background and statutory framework

Title 37, Chapter 41 of the Mississippi Code governs public-school transportation. Section 37-41-3 sets the baseline: students living a mile or more from school are entitled to home-to-school transportation. Section 37-41-21 makes it unlawful to transport students who are not entitled to such transportation. Section 37-41-27(1) provides a narrow exception for activity trips, but its plain language limits ridership to "participating students, teachers, coaches and sponsors." Section 37-41-5 lets the school board and the board of supervisors expend local funds for extra-circumstance transportation, but the statute caps that expansion at trips to school, not to school events.

The AG read these provisions strictly. The Office relied on the plain-meaning canon: where the statute lists who may ride, that list is exclusive. The opinion declined the broader question of "is there any other applicable law" because such a question is too open-ended for an official opinion, but it did confirm there is no statute on the books that supports a "guardian-driver" exception.

Citations

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-3 (home-to-school transportation entitlement, plus handicapped and junior college students)
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-5 (extra-circumstance transportation, limited to trips "to the public school")
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-21 (unlawful to transport students not entitled to school transportation)
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-27(1) (activity trips for participating students, teachers, coaches, and sponsors)

Source

Original opinion text

May 10, 2023
Ryan Revere, Esq.
Attorney, South Panola School District
Post Office Drawer 1586
Batesville, Mississippi 38606
Re:

Transportation on Public School Buses

Dear Mr. Revere:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background
According to your request, some of the bus drivers for the South Panola School District ("District")
provide care for their children, grandchildren, or wards who are students in the District
("children"). These bus drivers may not be able to provide care for these children if they need to
operate the buses to transport other students to events in connection with the District's educational
program. It would be beneficial to the District and its students if these drivers were allowed to
transport these children to these events with them.
Questions Presented
1. May children under the care of the bus drivers ride the District's publicly owned school
buses to school-related events if those children are not participants in those events?
2. If not, may the District allow those children who are District students to ride the buses to
school-related events under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 37-41-5 due to the
extraordinary circumstances and conditions present with the scarcity of bus drivers?
3. If the answer to the first two questions is no, is there any other applicable law which would
allow for the transportation of such children on the District's publicly owned buses to
school-related events?

Brief Response
1. No. Transportation provided pursuant to Section 37-41-27 is limited to students
participating in the event.
2. No. Section 37-41-5 only applies to the transportation of students to school due to
extraordinary circumstances or conditions.
3. There is no statutory authority that allows a student who is not participating in a school-related event to ride a school bus simply because their parent, grandparent, or guardian is
driving the school bus.
Applicable Law and Discussion
Public school students who live one mile or more from their school are entitled to transportation
between their homes and school pursuant to Section 37-41-3. Title 37, Chapter 41 provides limited
circumstances in which school buses may be used for additional purposes. See Miss. Code Ann.
§§ 37-41-3 (allowing transportation of handicapped children not otherwise entitled to
transportation and junior college students) and 37-41-27(1) (allowing transportation in connection
with 4-H Clubs). It is unlawful to transport students on public school buses who are not entitled
to such transportation. Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-21.
Section 37-41-27(1), which you cite in your request, provides, in part:
The local school boards, subject to rules and regulations promulgated by the State
Board of Education, may permit the use of publicly owned school buses for the
transportation of participating students, teachers, coaches and sponsors in
connection with athletic events, events of boys' and girls' clubs, events of Future
Farmers of America or 4-H Clubs and special events in connection with the schools
which the boards may consider a part of the educational program.
(Emphasis added). According to the plain language of this statute, this provision is specific to
students who are participating in the athletic or extra-curricular event. As we understand your
request, you are asking about students who are not participants in an event. Thus, in response to
your first question, it is the opinion of this office that Section 37-41-27(1) does not permit students
who are not participants to ride the school bus to athletic or extra-curricular events.
Your request also cites Section 37-41-5, which allows the local school board and board of
supervisors to expend local funds to provide transportation, under extraordinary circumstances, to
students not otherwise entitled to transportation under Section 37-41-3. However, this is limited to
transportation "to the public school[]." Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-5 (emphasis added). It does not
include transportation to school-related events as described in your request. In response to your
second question, Section 37-41-5 does not authorize the District to transport these children to
school-related events.

Your third question asks whether there are any other applicable laws that would allow for the
transportation of these children on the District's publicly owned buses to school-related events.
Whether there is any circumstance in which the District would be permitted to lawfully transport
these children is too broad of a question to answer by official opinion. However, there is no
statutory authority that allows a student who is not participating in a school-related event to ride a
school bus simply because their parent, grandparent, or guardian is driving the school bus.
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By:

/s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General