St. Joan Antida High School filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Milwaukee Public Schools for the right to transportation.

The lawsuit claims 70 girls that attend the school qualify for MPS transportation under the state law and MPS guidelines.

The lawsuit argues that if "MPS fails to provide transportation to students attending private religious schools on the same basis that it provides such transportation to students attending public schools, then MPS is denying the students at such private religious schools their right to equal protection of the laws."

According to the lawsuit, St. Joan Antida has 143 students, and 70 of the students live more than 2 miles away from the school.

The lawsuit argues that MPS has negligently failed to provide transportation for those 70 students.

St. Joan Antida released this statement:

“Safe and reliable student transportation is a top priority for St. Joan Antida High School families and the leadership team of the school. State law requires that Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) provide transportation as a basic need for families living within the district. Without transportation, our families do not have the option to send their children to the school of their choice.

Unfortunately, MPS is not providing transportation to St. Joan Antida High School students, as it is obligated. Last Fall, with the assistance of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, we notified MPS through a notice of claim that it was our intention to ask the courts to enforce MPS’ obligation to meet the transportation needs of our students in the same manner that it does for other students attending both public and private schools.

It was our hope that MPS would respond by honoring its obligation. Unfortunately, MPS has denied our request and, therefore, we have no alternative but to pursue legal action. A lawsuit was filed on March 21.

It is our intent to achieve a fair resolution to this issue, utilizing the court system, so that our students and their families receive the same transportation benefits as those attending public city-wide high schools.”

-- Paul T. Gessner, Head of School, St. Joan Antida High School