Prince George’s County doesn’t have the authority to make parents pay for children to ride the bus to school, according to an opinion from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. The school board’s budget calls for saving $8 million by implementing a transportation fee for students enrolled in magnet programs, which costs more than bus service for neighborhood schools. The proposal would not affect regular bus service.

“It is my view that, without authorization from the General Assembly, Prince George’s County is without the power to impose a charge for transporting public school students to and from school,” Bonnie A. Kirkland, an assistant attorney general in Maryland, wrote in a letter to Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George’s County Democrat who requested an opinion on the subject.