Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 285.10 (2026)

Powers and duties of local boards

✓ current as of July 2026

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The powers and duties of the local school boards shall be to:

1. Provide transportation for each resident pupil who attends public school, and each resident pupil who attends a nonpublic school, and who is entitled to transportation under the laws of this state.

2. Establish, maintain, and operate bus routes for the transportation of pupils so as to provide for the economical and efficient operation thereof without duplication of facilities, and to properly safeguard the health and safety of the pupils transported.

3. Purchase or lease buses and other transportation facilities, and maintain same, and to enter into contracts for transportation subject to any provisions of law affecting same.

4. Employ such drivers and other employees as may be necessary and prescribe their qualifications and adopt rules for their conduct.

5. Exercise any and all powers and duties relating to transportation of pupils enjoined upon them by law.

6. Shall purchase liability insurance and other insurance coverage which the board deems advisable to insure the school district, its officers, employees, and agents against liability incurred as a result of operating school buses, including but not limited to liability to pupils or other persons lawfully transported. Section 670.7 shall apply to such insurance. However, the board of directors in its discretion shall determine the insurance coverages and limits, and the school district and directors shall not be liable as a result of any such discretionary decision.

7. When a school qualifies to purchase buses, they may be purchased as follows:

a. From funds available in the general fund or in the physical plant and equipment levy fund.

b. By purchasing buses and entering into contracts to pay for such buses over a five-year period as follows: one-fourth of the cost when the bus is delivered and the balance in equal annual installments, plus simple interest due. The interest rate shall be the lowest rate available and shall not exceed the rate in effect under section 74A.2. The bus shall serve as security for balance due. Competitive bids on comparable equipment shall be requested on all school bus purchases and shall be based upon minimum construction standards established by the department of education. Bids shall be requested unless the bus is a used or demonstrator bus.

8. Boards in school districts which have sufficient resident pupils they are required to transport to warrant the purchase of transportation equipment may purchase buses needed to provide the transportation.

9. In the discretion of the board, furnish a school bus and services of a qualified driver to an organization of, or sponsoring activities for, senior citizens, children, persons with disabilities, or other persons and groups in this state. The board shall charge and collect an amount sufficient to reimburse all costs of furnishing the bus and driver except when the bus is used for transporting pupils to and from extracurricular activities sponsored by the school. A school bus shall be used as provided in this subsection only at times when it is not needed for transportation of pupils.

10. In the discretion of the board, furnish a school bus and services of a qualified driver for transportation of persons other than pupils to activities in which pupils from the school are participants or are attending the activity or for which the school is a sponsor. The board\n\nTue Dec 09 22:17:39 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 285 (26, 0) 9 STATE AID FOR TRANSPORTATION, §285.12\n\nshall charge and collect an amount sufficient to reimburse all costs of furnishing the bus and driver. A school bus shall be used as provided in this subsection only at times when it is not needed for transportation of pupils. [C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §285.10] 92 Acts, ch 1187, §5; 93 Acts, ch 127, §5; 94 Acts, ch 1029, §21; 96 Acts, ch 1129, §113; 2003 Acts, ch 180, §52; 2004 Acts, ch 1086, §58 Referred to in §279.48, 285.11, 321.18 \n

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases, 1947–2003 · leading case: Silver Lake Consol. Sch. Dist. v. Parker, 29 N.W.2d 214 (Iowa 1947).

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Silver Lake Consol. Sch. Dist. v. Parker, 29 N.W.2d 214 (Iowa 1947). · cites it 10× “We have referred to section 285.10, providing for transportation of those who attend public schools.”

City of Bloomfield v. Davis Cnty. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 119 N.W.2d 909 (Iowa 1963). · cites it 6× “) Section 285.10, which requires local school boards to provide transportation for each pupil legally entitled thereto, states, in subsection 2, that local school boards “Establish, maintain and operate bus routes for the transportation of pupils so as to provide for the…”

Anderson v. Calamus Cmty. Sch. Dist., Clinton Co, 174 N.W.2d 643 (Iowa 1970). · cites it 2× “Plaintiff also argues governmental immunity in favor of school districts was waived because of the provision of Code section 285.10(6). It provides: “Power and duties of local boards.”

Cnty. Bd. of Educ. Ex Rel. Bremer Cnty. v. Parker, 45 N.W.2d 567 (Iowa 1951). · cites it 2× “Section 285.10, 1946 Code. Later the Bremer County Board of Education, by official action, -disapproved the selection made by that school board.”

Sioux City Cmty. Sch. Dist. v. Iowa Dep't of Educ., 659 N.W.2d 563 (Iowa 2003). · cites it 2× “Although reasonable minds could differ over the judgment call that the [AEA] was called upon to make, the parents convinced the [AEA] that the [school district] exercised its discretion in an unreasonable way adverse to the health and safety of the students, as required by Iowa…”

Hare v. Bd. of Directors of Boyer Sch. Twp., 85 N.W.2d 540 (Iowa 1957). · cites it 6× “(2), a vote of the electors; also that under other Code sections the Board had power to purchase a bus; and there are pupils residing in subdistricts 5, 6 and 8 entitled to transportation under Code section 285.10; also that such power was not limited by subsection 8(b) of Code…”

Hare v. Bd. of Directors, Etc., 85 N.W.2d 540 (Iowa 1957). · cites it 6× “2, a vote of the electors; also that under other code sections the Board had power to purchase a bus; and there are pupils residing in subdistricts 5, 6 and 8 entitled to transportation under code section 285.10; also that such power was not limited by subdivision 8, par.”

— Iowa Code § 285.10(1) — 2 cases

Silver Lake Consol. Sch. Dist. v. Parker, 29 N.W.2d 214 (Iowa 1947). “We have referred to section 285.10, providing for transportation of those who attend public schools.”

City of Bloomfield v. Davis Cnty. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 119 N.W.2d 909 (Iowa 1963). “) Section 285.10, which requires local school boards to provide transportation for each pupil legally entitled thereto, states, in subsection 2, that local school boards “Establish, maintain and operate bus routes for the transportation of pupils so as to provide for the…”

— Iowa Code § 285.10(2) — 1 case

Sioux City Cmty. Sch. Dist. v. Iowa Dep't of Educ., 659 N.W.2d 563 (Iowa 2003). “Although reasonable minds could differ over the judgment call that the [AEA] was called upon to make, the parents convinced the [AEA] that the [school district] exercised its discretion in an unreasonable way adverse to the health and safety of the students, as required by Iowa…”

— Iowa Code § 285.10(6) — 1 case

Anderson v. Calamus Cmty. Sch. Dist., Clinton Co, 174 N.W.2d 643 (Iowa 1970). “Plaintiff also argues governmental immunity in favor of school districts was waived because of the provision of Code section 285.10(6). It provides: “Power and duties of local boards.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.