S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  5394

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 16, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced by Sen. FUSCHILLO -- 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 authorizing boards of
  education to provide certain children transportation to school

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

  Section 1.  Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the educa-
tion  law,  as amended by section 11 of part A of chapter 97 of the laws
of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
  a. Sufficient transportation facilities (including the  operation  and
maintenance  of motor vehicles) shall be provided by the school district
for all the children residing within the school district to and from the
school they legally attend, who  are  in  need  of  such  transportation
because  of  the  remoteness  of  the  school  to  the  child or for the
promotion of the best interest of such children.    Such  transportation
shall be provided for all children attending grades kindergarten through
eight  who  live  more than two miles from the school which they legally
attend and for all children attending grades  nine  through  twelve  who
live more than three miles from the school which they legally attend and
shall be provided for each such child up to a distance of fifteen miles,
the distances in each case being measured by the nearest available route
from  home  to school; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF
ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL, UPON WRITTEN PETITION OF A  PARENT  OR  OTHER
PERSON  IN PARENTAL RELATION OF A CHILD RESIDING WITHIN SUCH DISTRICT OR
OF ANY REPRESENTATIVE AUTHORIZED BY  SUCH  PARENT  OR  OTHER  PERSON  IN
PARENTAL  RELATION,  SIGNED  BY  TWENTY-FIVE  QUALIFIED  VOTERS  OF  THE
DISTRICT OR FIVE PERCENT OF THE NUMBER OF VOTERS WHO VOTED IN THE PREVI-
OUS ANNUAL ELECTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION,  WHICHEVER
IS GREATER, MAKE AN INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE WHETHER CHILDREN RESIDING
WITHIN  THE TWO OR THREE MILE DESIGNATED AREA MAY FOR SAFETY REASONS USE
AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED PICK UP/DROP OFF LOCATION OUTSIDE OF SUCH TWO  OR

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10167-03-3
              

S. 5394                             2

THREE MILE DESIGNATED AREA. PETITIONS SHALL SPECIFY THE GEOGRAPHIC BOUN-
DARIES  DETAILING  POTENTIAL  HAZARDS  TO CHILD SAFETY. PETITIONS AND/OR
ADDITIONAL WRITTEN  REQUESTS  FROM  INDIVIDUAL  PARENTS  OR  PERSONS  IN
PARENTAL  RELATION  REQUESTING  TRANSPORTATION MAY BE SUBMITTED PROVIDED
THAT SUCH PETITIONS AND/OR REQUESTS SHALL NOT BE  SUBMITTED  LATER  THAN
THE  FIRST  DAY OF MARCH PRECEDING THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR WHICH TRANSPORTA-
TION IS REQUESTED. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION SHALL MAKE  ITS  DETERMINATION
BEFORE  SUCH  BOARD  PRESENTS  THE  BUDGET FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR WHICH
TRANSPORTATION IS REQUESTED.   THE PARENT OR OTHER  PERSON  IN  PARENTAL
RELATION  OF  A  CHILD  NOT RESIDING IN THE DISTRICT ON THE FIRST DAY OF
MARCH MAY SUBMIT A REQUEST WITHIN THIRTY DAYS AFTER  ESTABLISHING  RESI-
DENCE  IN THE DISTRICT, BUT IN NO EVENT LATER THAN THE FIRST DAY OF JULY
OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR WHICH TRANSPORTATION IS REQUESTED AND  THE  BOARD
OF  EDUCATION SHALL MAKE ITS DETERMINATION WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF RECEIPT
OF SUCH REQUEST.  The cost of providing such transportation between  two
or  three  miles, as the case may be, and fifteen miles shall be consid-
ered for the purposes of this chapter to be a charge upon  the  district
and an ordinary contingent expense of the district. Transportation for a
lesser  distance than two miles in the case of children attending grades
kindergarten through eight or  three  miles  in  the  case  of  children
attending  grades  nine  through  twelve and for a greater distance than
fifteen miles may be provided by the district with the approval  of  the
qualified  voters,  and,  if  provided,  shall be offered equally to all
children in like  circumstances  residing  in  the  district;  provided,
however, that this requirement shall not apply to transportation offered
pursuant to section thirty-six hundred thirty-five-b of this article.
  S  2.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law; provided that  the  amend-
ments  to  paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the education
law made by section one of this act shall not affect the  expiration  of
such paragraph and shall be deemed to expire therewith.