[protoserge]

[To everyone] If you are operating out of the school system, you have to follow the school system rules. There are very good reasons why the school system has come to require chartered or school bus transportation.

There aren't many workarounds, and any side-skirting of the rules can open the school system up for lawsuits in the event of injury or death (average payout for an accidental death is around $2.4M per person). While the school system has insurance, it is most likely not enough to cover negligence (which is what this would be). If a non-school employee mentor is driving a vehicle on a school-sanctioned trip, the driver and the school system can be held liable.

The options you presented are the only ones that are acceptable for us as well. It may get tricky for us with the off-season competitions, but the transportation of students by parents outside of school events is not limited.

In our case, we have to use a school bus or chartered bus for travel. Call around and get good deals. See if they're willing to negotiate if you're booking far in advance. It may actually be cheaper than you expect, depending on how far you travel.

Honestly, your best course of action is to confer with the school system lawyers for any alternate approach you can think of.