S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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8482
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 17, 2014
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FAHY, LUPARDO, CAMARA, SCARBOROUGH, JAFFEE,
GUNTHER, MAGNARELLI, COLTON, STIRPE, OTIS, DUPREY, MONTESANO, RAIA,
GIGLIO, ABINANTI, CLARK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE,
GALEF, GOTTFRIED, McLAUGHLIN, SKARTADOS, THIELE, WEISENBERG -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the transportation of
children attending pre-kindergarten; and repealing certain provisions
of such law relating thereto
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 FOUR YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER attending
grades [kindergarten] PRE-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. The
cost of providing such transportation between two or three miles, as the
case may be, and fifteen miles shall be considered 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 FOUR YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER attending
grades [kindergarten] PRE-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
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13223-03-4
A. 8482 2
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 transporta-
tion offered pursuant to section thirty-six hundred thirty-five-b of
this article.
S 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the education
law, as amended by chapter 69 of the laws of 1992, 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 FOUR YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER attending
grades [kindergarten] PRE-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. The
cost of providing such transportation between two or three miles, as the
case may be, and fifteen miles shall be considered 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 FOUR YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER attending
grades [kindergarten] PRE-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,
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 3. Paragraph g of subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the education law
is REPEALED.
S 4. Paragraph e of subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the education
law, as amended by chapter 665 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read
as follows:
e. In lieu of the transportation provided pursuant to the foregoing
provisions of this subdivision, a board of education may, at its
discretion, provide transportation to any child FOUR YEARS OF AGE AND
OLDER attending grades [kindergarten] PRE-KINDERGARTEN through eight
between the school such child legally attends and before-and/or-after-
school child care locations. For the purposes of this subdivision, a
before-and/or-after-school child care location shall mean a place, other
than the child's home, where care for less than twenty-four hours a day
is provided on a regular basis for a child who attends school within the
school district, provided that such place is situated within the school
district. This definition includes, but is not limited to, a variety of
child care services such as day care centers, family day care homes and
in-home care by non-relatives. Such transportation may be provided for
children FOUR YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER attending grades [kindergarten]
PRE-KINDERGARTEN through eight where the distance between the school
they legally attend and before-and/or-after-school child care locations
is more than two miles, and may be provided for up to a distance of
fifteen miles, the distance in each case being measured by the nearest
A. 8482 3
available route from before-and/or-after-school child care locations to
the school they legally attend, except that transportation for a lesser
distance than two miles or a greater distance than fifteen miles may be
provided if transportation for such distances is provided to students
between home and school. Where a child receives transportation from a
before-school child care location to the school he or she legally
attends, such child shall be entitled to receive transportation from the
school he or she legally attends to his or her home or to an after-
school child care location in accordance with this subdivision. Where a
child receives transportation from the school he or she legally attends
to an after-school child care location, such child shall be entitled to
receive transportation from home to the school he or she legally attends
in accordance with this subdivision. Transportation may be provided to
any child FOUR YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER attending grades] [kindergarten]
PRE-KINDERGARTEN through eight between the school the child legally
attends and before-and/or-after-school child care locations upon written
request of the parent or legal guardian submitted not later than the
first day of April preceding the next school year, provided, however, a
parent or guardian of a child not residing in the district on such date
shall submit a written request within thirty days after establishing
residence in the district and provided further that in order to be
considered eligible for such transportation in the nineteen hundred
eighty-seven--eighty-eight school year, such request must be submitted
by August first, nineteen hundred eighty-seven. The provision of trans-
portation to or from before-and/or-after-school child care locations, if
provided, shall be offered equally to all children in like circumstances
residing in the district, provided that a board of education furnishing
transportation pursuant to this paragraph may limit the provision of
such transportation to child care locations located within the attend-
ance zone of the school the child attends, and to child day care centers
and school age child care programs licensed or registered pursuant to
section three hundred ninety of the social services law located anywhere
within the school district. The cost of providing such transportation
between two or three miles, as the case may be, and fifteen miles shall
be considered for the purposes of this chapter to be a charge upon the
district. Such substitute transportation expense shall be eligible for
state aid in accordance with clause one of paragraph b of subdivision
seven of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter. Nothing in this
subdivision shall be construed to impose a duty upon boards of education
to provide transportation to or from before-and/or-after-school child
care locations. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to
authorize boards of education to provide to any child transportation
between a before-and/or-after-school day care location and that child's
home.
S 5. This act shall take effect immediately, 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 be subject to the expiration
and reversion of such paragraph when upon such date the provisions of
section two of this act shall take effect.