Expands the authority of school boards and trustees of school districts to provide pupil transportation in child safety zones.

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S3521-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO EDUCATION
• Feb 24, 2011: REFERRED TO EDUCATION

S3521-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S3521

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the education law, in relation to expanding the authority of
school boards and trustees of school districts to provide pupil
transportation in child safety zones

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To allow the NYC Department of
Education to provide pupil transportation in child safety zones and
extends the determination of hazardous zones to include areas where
there is a lack of available public transportation.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Subdivision 1 of section 3635-b of the education law is amended to
include city school districts with more than one million inhabitants.

Subdivision 3 of section 3635-b of the education law is amended to
include areas where there is a lack of available public transportation.

JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, the board of education in a school district
with less than 125,000 inhabitants may adopt a resolution to make
transportation available in areas determined to be child safety zones
for resident students. In addition, the law provides that the
Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the Commissioner
of Education and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, shall establish
the regulations for determining what is considered a hazardous zone
such as factors including the existence or nonexistence of sidewalks,
the type of road surface, the existence or nonexistence of traffic
safety features among many factors.

This legislation extends the provision to include school districts
with more than 1 million inhabitants and also provides that the lack
of available public transportation should also be considered when
determining what is a child safety zone.

The NYC Department of Education recently discontinued transportation
services for in and 8th grade students, which has resulted in the
need for these students to utilize the public transportation system.

In areas such as Rockaway Point in Queens and in Staten Island, where
there is not only a lack of, but oftentimes, no available public
transportation, this has provided for a dangerous and difficult
situation for many students that now must walk to school in hazardous
areas.

New York State law states that, while not required in a city school
district, if transportation is provided, such transportation shall be
offered equally to all students in like circumstances.


This legislation would allow the NYC Department of Education the
ability to adopt a resolution to allow for transportation for
students in areas that are deemed child safety zones and provide that
one of the factors for that determination would be the lack of
available public transportation, addressing the student
transportation problems in Staten Island and Rockaway Point.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.

S3521-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    3521

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              February 24, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- 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 expanding the authori-
    ty of school boards and trustees of school districts to provide  pupil
    transportation in child safety zones

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1.  Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 3635-b  of  the  education
  law,  subdivision  1  as  amended by chapter 536 of the laws of 2002 and
  subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 403 of the laws of 1992, are amended
  to read as follows:

    1. This section shall apply where the board of education  or  trustees
  of  a  common, central, central high school, union free school district,
  or city school district of a city with less than one hundred twenty-five
  thousand inhabitants OR MORE  THAN  ONE  MILLION  INHABITANTS  adopts  a
  resolution  to  make  transportation  in child safety zones available to
  resident pupils for a particular  school  year.  Such  resolution  shall
  continue  in effect for subsequent school years until the board adopts a
  resolution providing otherwise.
    3. The commissioner of transportation shall establish regulations  for
  determination  of  a  hazardous zone including, but not limited to, such
  factors as the existence or nonexistence of sidewalks or  walkways,  the
  type  of  road  surface, width of road, footpath or sidewalk, the volume
  and average speed of traffic, density  of  population,  the  commercial,
  industrial  or residential character of the area [and], the existence or
  nonexistence of traffic safety features such as traffic  lights,  street
  lights  and traffic patrols AND THE LACK OF AVAILABLE PUBLIC TRANSPORTA-
  TION. In preparing such regulations, the commissioner of  transportation
  shall consult with the commissioners of education and motor vehicles and
  representatives  from the state police who have traffic safety responsi-
  bilities. Such regulations shall be  used  by  boards  of  education  in
  determining whether a hazardous zone exists.
    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD08938-02-1