§ 3625. Contracts. 1. Form of transportation contracts. Every
contract for transportation of school children shall be in writing or in
an electronic form approved by the commissioner when available, and
before such contract is filed with the department as required by
subdivision two of this section, the same shall be submitted for
approval to the superintendent of schools of said district and such
contract shall not be approved and filed by such superintendent unless
he or she shall first investigate the same with particular reference to
the type of conveyance, the character and ability of the driver, the
routes over which the conveyances shall travel, the time schedule, and
such other matters as in the judgement of the superintendent are
necessary for the comfort and protection of the children while being
transported to and from school. Every such contract for transportation
of children shall contain an agreement upon the part of the contractor
that the vehicle shall come to a full stop before crossing the track or
tracks of any railroad and before crossing any state highway.

2. Filing of transportation contracts. Every transportation contract
shall be filed with the department within one hundred twenty days of the
commencement of service under such contract. No transportation expense
shall be allowed for a period greater than one hundred twenty days prior
to the filing of any contract for the transportation of pupils with the
education department. No contract shall be considered filed unless it
bears an original signature, in the case of a written document, or a
certification, in the case of an approved electronic form, of the
superintendent of a school district or the designee of the
superintendent and the sole trustee or president of the board of
education of the school district. The final approval of any such
contract by the commissioner shall not, however, obligate the state to
allow transportation expense in an amount greater than the amount that
would be allowed under the provisions of this part. The state, acting
through the department of audit and control, may examine any and all
accounts of the contractor in connection with a contract for the
transportation of pupils, and every such contract shall contain the
following provision: "The contractor hereby consents to an audit of any
and all financial records relating to this contract by the department of
audit and control."

3. Allowable expense for transportation contracts. The allowable
transportation expense for any school district contracting for the use
of a bus or buses for the transportation of any or all the pupils
attending school in such school district, other than a contract with a
public service facility for such transportation operated on routes under
franchise or operated by a municipality or public authority, shall be
determined in the same manner as though such bus or buses were district
owned, except that the amount computed for such bus or buses used in the
computation of the transportation expense may not exceed the amount of
the contract or contracts for such bus or buses.

4. No transportation aid or other public moneys shall be apportioned
and paid as provided in this chapter to any district furnishing
transportation for pupils until the contract for transportation shall
also have been approved by the commissioner. In defraying any expense
incurred in providing transportation of any pupils or children under any
provision of this chapter, public moneys apportioned to the district in
which such pupils or children reside may be used therefor.

5. Transportation contract penalties. a. All acts done and proceedings
heretofore had and taken, or caused to be had and taken, by school
districts and by all its officers or agents relating to or in connection
with a transportation contract, to be filed with the department, where
such contract was not timely executed and/or filed within one hundred
twenty days of the commencement of service under such contract pursuant
to subdivision two of this section and/or where the advertisement for
bids for such contract did not meet the requirements set forth in
paragraph a of subdivision fourteen of section three hundred five of
this chapter, and all acts incidental hereto are hereby legalized,
validated, ratified and confirmed, notwithstanding any failure to comply
with such filing and/or advertising provision or provisions, provided
that the conditions in subparagraphs one, two, three, and four of
paragraph b of this subdivision are met.

b. The department is hereby directed to consider the aforementioned
contracts for transportation aid as valid and proper obligations and
shall not recover from such school districts any penalty arising from
the failure to execute and/or file a transportation contract in a timely
manner and/or meet such advertisement requirements, provided that any
amounts already so recovered shall be deemed a payment of moneys due for
prior years pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision five of section
thirty-six hundred four of this article and shall be paid to the school
district pursuant to such provision, provided that:

(1) such school district submitted the contract to the commissioner
and such contract is for services in the two thousand twelve--two
thousand thirteen school year or thereafter;

(2) such contract is approved by the commissioner;

(3) all state funds expended by the school district were properly
expended for such transportation as approved by the commissioner; and

(4) the failure to execute or file such contract in a timely manner
and/or meet such advertisement requirements was an inadvertent
administrative or ministerial oversight by the school district or due to
extenuating circumstances, and there is no evidence of any fraudulent or
other improper intent by such district, as determined by the
commissioner.