I guess my district is doing something that's not required by law. There are a variety of disabilities that the district is not equipped to handle so the disctrict pays tuition to send these kids to other districts and pays for their bussing. They're working on it because the current solution does cost a lot of money but they're making sure they do it right for the benefit of the kids in question as well as everybody else around them.
I can't see how transportation isn't the responsibility of the district. Equivalent would dictate that if transportation is required for any child over a specified distance than kids who have to be sent to another district would require the same thing.
In the situation I was describing before where two kids both have disabilities but one has to be sent elsewhere as an accomodation because it's not safe for both to be together, it seems like a case of discrimination against the child who's being sent elsewhere for the school to not provide an equal environment for the child being sent elsewhere. Why is the one child's family required to provide transportation while the other doesn't? That's saying one disability is more worthy than another which is a very dangerous and slippery slope.
I've never actually been in a situation where I've had to deal with this so I'm speaking hypothetically. IMO it does have to be an extreme situation in order to start going down this kind of road and I'm very blessed that we've never had to deal with anything this extreme.
Providing transportation to a child because the school is not equipped for their needs is one thing and that does happen here for the students with DS or severe autism, etc as different schools are designated with different special needs programs.
Stating that a school needs to move a child because one wants peanut butter while the other is allergic is a choice on the parents NOT on the school. If you feel your child cannot be in a peanut allergy room than you can make a request but the school district does NOT have to pay for transportation in that case.