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Under the heading ‘School transport costs’, Article 4 of the Wet op het primair onderwijs (Law on primary education) provides: ‘1. For the purposes of schooling, the mayor and aldermen shall, on request, cover the transport costs which they deem necessary of the parents of pupils residing in the territory of their municipality. The municipal council shall adopt a decree laying down the detailed rules for covering the transport costs, taking into account the provisions of the following paragraphs. ... 4. The decree shall take into account the contribution that may reasonably be required of parents and provide that appropriate transport may be provided for the pupil. The decree shall lay down the detailed rules governing how the mayor and aldermen may consult experts in this area. 5. The decree shall provide that transport costs are to be covered in respect of the distance between the pupil’s home and (a) the nearest primary school accessible to him, or if the pupil needs to attend a special needs primary school, the nearest special needs primary school accessible to him; (b) a different ordinary or special needs primary school if the transport to that school costs the municipality less than the transport to the ordinary or special needs primary school referred to in point (a), where the parents agree to transport to the other school; (c) the nearest special needs primary school accessible to the pupil in the pupil’s primary school district, where the parents agree to transport to that special needs primary school; or (d) a different special needs primary school in the school district referred to in point (c), if the transport to that school costs the municipality less than the transport to the special needs primary school referred to in point (c), where the parents agree to transport to the other school. ... 7. The decree may provide that, for parents whose combined income exceeds EUR 17700, transport costs are to be covered only to the extent that the transport costs exceed the cost of public transport over the distance set by the municipal council on the basis of paragraph 8; that distance may not exceed 6 kilometres. The calculation of income shall be based on the income received during the second calendar year preceding the calendar year during which the school year in respect of an application has been made for transport costs begins. The public transport costs referred to in the first sentence correspond to the public transport costs that would be reasonably incurred for the distance covered, taking into account the zoning system introduced by the decree based on Article 27(1) of the Law on transport of passengers, regardless of whether the area concerned is served by public transport or the extent to which it is actually used. Where paragraph 10 is applied, the decree shall provide for a financial contribution from the parent, to be calculated in accordance with the third sentence above. From 1 January 1999, the amount referred to in the first sentence above shall be adjusted annually on the basis of changes in the index of standard wages of adult workers in relation to the previous year, rounded to a multiple of EUR 450. That adjusted amount shall replace the amount referred to in the first sentence. 8. The decree may provide that there is no right for transport costs to be covered on the basis of the distance between the school which is accessible to the pupil and his home, measured using the shortest route which is sufficiently practical and safe for the pupil. ... 10. The decree may allow the municipality itself to provide transport or arrange for its provision instead of covering the costs of transport. 11. The decree may provide that, in respect of pupils for whom the distance referred to in paragraph 5 exceeds 20 kilometres, the amount of transport costs to be covered is to depend on the parents’ ability to contribute or that the transport which the municipality provides either directly or through others is to be arranged in return for payment of a contribution which depends of the parents’ ability to contribute and which cannot exceed the cost of transporting the pupil concerned. In that case, the decree shall also contain provisions concerning the calculation of the parents’ ability to contribute. The first sentence shall not apply to pupils attending special needs primary schools who live at a distance of more than 20 kilometres from the closest public or private special needs primary school. ...’