S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 653 2009-2010 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E January 12, 2009 ___________ Introduced by Sens. LARKIN, BONACIC, DeFRANCISCO, FARLEY, MAZIARZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the transportation of children residing in a school district THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs a, b and e of subdivision 1 of section 3635 of 2 the education law, paragraph a as amended by chapter 69 of the laws of 3 1992, paragraph b as amended by chapter 718 of the laws of 1990, subpar- 4 agraph (i) of paragraph b as amended by chapter 571 of the laws of 1994 5 and paragraph e as amended by chapter 665 of the laws of 1990, are 6 amended to read as follows: 7 a. Sufficient transportation facilities (including the operation and 8 maintenance of motor vehicles) shall be provided by the school district 9 for all the children residing within the school district to and from the 10 school they legally attend, who are in need of such transportation 11 because of the remoteness of the school to the child or for the 12 promotion of the best interest of such children. Such transportation 13 shall be provided for all children attending grades kindergarten through 14 eight who live more than two miles from the school which they legally 15 attend and for all children attending grades nine through twelve who 16 live more than three miles from the school which they legally attend and 17 shall be provided for each such child up to a distance of [fifteen] 18 TWENTY-FIVE miles, the distances in each case being measured by the 19 nearest available route from home to school. The cost of providing such 20 transportation between two or three miles, as the case may be, and 21 [fifteen] TWENTY-FIVE miles shall be considered for the purposes of this 22 chapter to be a charge upon the district and an ordinary contingent 23 expense of the district. Transportation for a lesser distance than two 24 miles in the case of children attending grades kindergarten through EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00498-01-9 S. 653 2 1 eight or three miles in the case of children attending grades nine 2 through twelve and for a greater distance than [fifteen] TWENTY-FIVE 3 miles may be provided by the district, and, if provided, shall be 4 offered equally to all children in like circumstances residing in the 5 district; provided, however, that this requirement shall not apply to 6 transportation offered pursuant to section thirty-six hundred thirty- 7 five-b of this article. 8 b. (i) School districts providing transportation to a nonpublic school 9 for pupils living within a specified distance from such school shall 10 designate one or more public schools as centralized pick-up points and 11 shall provide transportation between such points and such nonpublic 12 schools for students residing in the district who live too far from such 13 nonpublic schools to qualify for transportation between home and school. 14 The district shall not be responsible for the provision of transporta- 15 tion for pupils between their home and such pick-up points. The 16 district may provide school bus transportation to a pupil if the resi- 17 dence of the pupil is located on an established route for the transpor- 18 tation of pupils to the centralized pick-up point provided such trans- 19 portation does not result in additional costs to the district. The cost 20 of providing transportation between such pick-up points and such nonpub- 21 lic schools shall be an ordinary contingent expense. 22 (ii) A board of education may, at its discretion, provide transporta- 23 tion for pupils residing within the district to a nonpublic school 24 located more than [fifteen] TWENTY-FIVE miles from the home of any such 25 pupil provided that such transportation has been provided to such 26 nonpublic school pursuant to this subdivision in at least one of the 27 immediately preceding three school years and such transportation is 28 provided from one or more centralized pick-up points designated pursuant 29 to this paragraph and that the distance from such pick-up points to the 30 nonpublic school is not more than [fifteen] TWENTY-FIVE miles. The 31 district shall not be responsible for the provision of transportation 32 for pupils between pupils homes and such pick-up points. The cost of 33 providing transportation between such pick-up points and such nonpublic 34 schools shall be an ordinary contingent expense. 35 (III) A BOARD OF EDUCATION SHALL PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION FOR PUPILS 36 RESIDING WITHIN THE DISTRICT WHO ARE NOT ENTITLED TO TRANSPORTATION 37 PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OR (II) OF THIS PARAGRAPH OR ANY OTHER 38 PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER TO A NONPUBLIC SCHOOL FROM THE HOME OF SUCH 39 PUPIL, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH NONPUBLIC SCHOOL IS WITHIN OR WITHOUT 40 SUCH DISTRICT. 41 e. In lieu of the transportation provided pursuant to the foregoing 42 provisions of this subdivision, a board of education may, at its 43 discretion, provide transportation to any child attending grades kinder- 44 garten through eight between the school such child legally attends and 45 before-and/or-after-school child care locations. For the purposes of 46 this subdivision, a before-and/or-after-school child care location shall 47 mean a place, other than the child's home, where care for less than 48 twenty-four hours a day is provided on a regular basis for a child who 49 attends school within the school district, provided that such place is 50 situated within the school district. This definition includes, but is 51 not limited to, a variety of child care services such as day care 52 centers, family day care homes and in-home care by non-relatives. Such 53 transportation may be provided for children attending grades kindergar- 54 ten through eight where the distance between the school they legally 55 attend and before-and/or-after-school child care locations is more than 56 two miles, and may be provided for up to a distance of [fifteen] TWEN- S. 653 3 1 TY-FIVE miles, the distance in each case being measured by the nearest 2 available route from before-and/or-after-school child care locations to 3 the school they legally attend, except that transportation for a lesser 4 distance than two miles or a greater distance than [fifteen] TWENTY-FIVE 5 miles may be provided if transportation for such distances is provided 6 to students between home and school. Where a child receives transporta- 7 tion from a before-school child care location to the school he or she 8 legally attends, such child shall be entitled to receive transportation 9 from the school he or she legally attends to his or her home or to an 10 after-school child care location in accordance with this subdivision. 11 Where a child receives transportation from the school he or she legally 12 attends to an after-school child care location, such child shall be 13 entitled to receive transportation from home to the school he or she 14 legally attends in accordance with this subdivision. Transportation may 15 be provided to any child attending grades kindergarten through eight 16 between the school the child legally attends and before-and/or-after- 17 school child care locations upon written request of the parent or legal 18 guardian submitted not later than the first day of April preceding the 19 next school year, provided, however, a parent or guardian of a child not 20 residing in the district on such date shall submit a written request 21 within thirty days after establishing residence in the district and 22 provided further that in order to be considered eligible for such trans- 23 portation in the nineteen hundred eighty-seven--eighty-eight school 24 year, such request must be submitted by August first, nineteen hundred 25 eighty-seven. The provision of transportation to or from before-and/or- 26 after-school child care locations, if provided, shall be offered equally 27 to all children in like circumstances residing in the district, provided 28 that a board of education furnishing transportation pursuant to this 29 paragraph may limit the provision of such transportation to child care 30 locations located within the attendance zone of the school the child 31 attends, and to child day care centers and school age child care 32 programs licensed or registered pursuant to section three hundred ninety 33 of the social services law located anywhere within the school district. 34 The cost of providing such transportation between two or three miles, as 35 the case may be, and [fifteen] TWENTY-FIVE miles shall be considered for 36 the purposes of this chapter to be a charge upon the district. Such 37 substitute transportation expense shall be eligible for state aid in 38 accordance with clause one of paragraph b of subdivision seven of 39 section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter. Nothing in this subdivi- 40 sion shall be construed to impose a duty upon boards of education to 41 provide transportation to or from before-and/or-after-school child care 42 locations. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize 43 boards of education to provide to any child transportation between a 44 before-and/or-after-school day care location and that child's home. 45 S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 46 the date on which it shall have become a law.