On September 5, 1996, the Amunsons sent a letter to the Board requesting that the Charter Oak-Ute bus be allowed to enter the East Monona District to pick up their children, and stated that the Board had set a precedent by allowing the Charter Oak-Ute bus into the East Monona District to pick up the children of Mr. and Mrs. Meadows. Prior to receiving this letter, the East Monona Board and Superintendent were unaware that the Charter Oak-Ute bus was entering their District to pick up the Meadows' children. At the September 9, 1996 Board meeting, the Board voted to deny the Amunsons' request for transportation, and directed Mr. Tedesco, Superintendent, to investigate why the Charter Oak-Ute bus was coming into the East Monona District, since the Board had not approved this.

After further investigation, the District discovered that the former superintendents of the East Monona and Charter Oak-Ute Districts had made a gentlemen's agreement to allow the Charter Oak-Ute school bus to enter the East Monona District to pick up the Meadows' children. This agreement was made during the 1991-92 school year, and a Charter Oak-Ute bus has been picking up the Meadows' children since the fall of 1992. The agreement had never been approved by the East Monona Board. At the October 14, 1996 Board meeting, the Board voted to allow the continuation of the practice of picking up the Meadows' children by the Charter Oak-Ute bus, "based on the circumstances of this case. The East Monona Board reserves the right to review each case individually and believes this case not to set a precedent." On March 10, 1997, the Board voted to discontinue allowing the Charter Oak-Ute bus to enter the East Monona District to pick up the Meadows' children, beginning with the 1997-98 school year. The Board did not require an immediate change, because it wanted to give the family time to make other transportation arrangements. Mr. Tedesco informed the Meadows and the Amunsons of this decision by letter dated March 13, 1997. Neither the Meadows or the Amunsons appealed this decision.

Parents who open enroll their children are responsible for transporting their children without reimbursement to and from a point on a regular bus route of the receiving district. Iowa Code 282.18(11)(1995). The point must be a designated stop on the bus route of the receiving district. 281 IAC 17.9(1). The only exception to this is if the child meets the economic eligibility guidelines set by the Iowa Department of Education. Iowa Code 282.18(11)(1995). Thus, the Amunsons were responsible for transporting their children to a designated bus stop on the Charter Oak-Ute bus route. (There was no evidence the Amunsons met the economic eligibility requirements.) However, if the boards of the receiving school district and the sending school district agree, the receiving school district may send buses into the sending district to pick up open enrolled students. Iowa Code 282.18(11)(1995); 281 IAC 17.9(1). This agreement must be approved by the Area Education Agency. Iowa Code 285.9(3)(1995); 281 IAC 17.9(1).

A local school board has the authority to deny receiving dis-trict buses the ability to enter the district to pick up open enrolled students. Iowa Code 282.18(11)(1995); 281 IAC 17.9(1). It also has the authority to allow receiving district buses into the district. Id. However, local boards do not have the authority to act arbitrarily and capriciously. See, Iowa Code 17A.19(8)"g"(1995). The question in this case is whether the Board acted arbitrarily and capriciously in allowing the Charter Oak-Ute bus into the district to pick up the Meadows children, but not the Amunson children. The answer is no.

That the decision of the Board of Directors of the East Monona Community School District made on November 11, 1996, which denied the Amunsons' request for transportation for their open enrolled children, was affirmed. The Amunsons must transport their children to and from the Meadows' stop, so long as that stop is a designated bus stop on the Charter Oak-Ute route.