Section 822 - School district to maintain public high schools or pay tuition(a) Each school district shall maintain one or more approved high schools in which high school education is provided for its resident students unless:(1) the electorate authorizes the school board to close an existing high school and to provide for the high school education of its students by paying tuition to a public high school, an approved independent high school, or an independent school meeting education quality standards, to be selected by the parents or guardians of the student, within or outside the State; or(2) the school district is organized to provide only elementary education for its students.(b) For purposes of this section, a school district that is organized to provide kindergarten through grade 12 and maintains a program of education for only the first eight years of compulsory school attendance shall be obligated to pay tuition for its resident students for at least four additional years.(c)(1) A school district may both maintain a high school and furnish high school education by paying tuition:(A) to a public school as in the judgment of the school board may best serve the interests of the students; or(B) to an approved independent school or an independent school meeting education quality standards if the school board judges that a student has unique educational needs that cannot be served within the district or at a nearby public school.(2) The judgment of the board shall be final in regard to the institution the students may attend at public cost.Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 53; amended 1977, No. 33, §2; 1989, No. 271 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1991, No. 24, § 2; 1997, No. 71 (Adj. Sess.), §85, eff. 3/11/1998; 2009 , No. 44, § 13, eff. 5/21/2009; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 96, eff. 2/14/2014; 2015 , No. 23, § 22.