NY State Senate Bill 2021-S7307

Senate Bill S7307

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Authorizes providing transportation services due to safety concerns within certain school districts

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to education
Jul 28, 2021	referred to rules

2021-S7307 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3635, Ed L

2021-S7307 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes providing transportation services due to safety concerns within school districts in a city with a population of more than ninety thousand but less than three hundred thousand.

2021-S7307 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7307

SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing providing
transportation services due to safety concerns within certain school
districts

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill authorizes any city school district in a city
with a population of more than ninety thousand but less than three
hundred thousand to, pursuant to adoption of a resolution by the board
of education and approved by the commissioner, provide transportation
services to children residing in the district attending pre-kindergarten
through eighth grade who live one-half mile or more from the school they
legally attend if determined by the commissioner to be necessary due to
safety concerns. Such transportation services shall be limited to trans-
portation to and from children's homes and before or after school child-
care locations, and offered up to fifteen miles. Expenses for such addi-
tional transportation shall be included in the computation for

transportation aid.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, school districts are required by law, and receive reimburse-
ment, to provide transportation for children attending kindergarten
through grade eight if the children live at least two miles from the
school they are attending. As a result, children attending kindergarten
through grade 8 likely will not have transportation services if they
live closer than two miles, and are forced to walk through potentially
dangerous conditions to receive an education, including severe winter
weather, hazardous traffic conditions, and criminal street activity.

Notably, the current State transportation reimbursement formula creates
inequity among urban and suburban school districts. The majority of
suburban school districts are able to be reimbursed for the transporta-
tion of their elementary and middle school students, but this is not the
case for city school districts. This bill closes the racial and income
gap in transportation access for students across New York.

This bill would authorize city school districts in cities with a popu-
lation of 90,000 to 300,000 to provide transportation services to chil-
dren who live closer than two miles if deemed necessary by the Board of
Education Commissioner due to safety concerns. These services would be
included in computation for transportation aid, so that the schools
would be reimbursed for these expenses. The health and safety of our
cities' children is too important to keep these restrictions in place.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act snail take effect immediately.

2021-S7307 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7307
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               July 28, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing  providing
   transportation  services  due to safety concerns within certain school
   districts

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section  3635 of the education law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph h to read as follows:
   H.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO  THE  CONTRARY,  ANY
 CITY  SCHOOL  DISTRICT  IN  A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF MORE THAN NINETY
 THOUSAND BUT LESS THAN THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND, PURSUANT TO ADOPTION OF A
 RESOLUTION BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION SETTING FORTH A PLAN, AND  APPROVAL
 OF  SUCH  PLAN  BY THE COMMISSIONER, MAY PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
 FOR CHILDREN RESIDING WITHIN  THE  DISTRICT  ATTENDING  PRE-KINDERGARTEN
 THROUGH  GRADE EIGHT WHO LIVE ONE-HALF MILE OR MORE FROM THE SCHOOL THEY
 LEGALLY ATTEND IF SUCH TRANSPORTATION IS DEEMED NECESSARY PURSUANT TO  A
 DETERMINATION  BY  THE COMMISSIONER DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS.  SUCH TRANS-
 PORTATION SERVICES SHALL BE RESTRICTED TO  TRANSPORTATION  TO  AND  FROM
 CHILDREN'S  HOMES OR BEFORE OR AFTER-SCHOOL CHILD CARE LOCATIONS AND, IF
 OFFERED, SHALL BE PROVIDED FOR EACH STUDENT UP TO A DISTANCE OF  FIFTEEN
 MILES. TRANSPORTATION PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE OFFERED EQUAL-
 LY  TO ALL CHILDREN IN LIKE CIRCUMSTANCES RESIDING IN THE DISTRICT.  FOR
 THE PURPOSE OF COMPUTING APPROVED TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES FOR  TRANSPOR-
 TATION  AID, EXPENSES FOR TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED PURSUANT TO THIS PARA-
 GRAPH SHALL BE INCLUDED.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11953-01-1

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