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

                                  6404

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 21, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. MARTINS -- 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
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

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

                                                           LBD10167-03-3

S. 6404                             2

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.