S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                 9267--A

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 9, 2012
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. HOOPER -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on  Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted
  as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the transportation  of
  children residing in a school district

  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. 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. Transporta-
tion 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  transporta-
tion  offered  pursuant  to  section thirty-six hundred thirty-five-b of

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

                                                           LBD14365-02-2

A. 9267--A                          2

this article; PROVIDED FURTHER THAT THIS REQUIREMENT SHALL NOT APPLY  TO
TRANSPORTATION  THAT  MAY,  UPON  A  RESOLUTION  ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF
EDUCATION OR TRUSTEES OF ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT, BE OFFERED ON AN EQUITABLE
BASIS  TO  PROVIDE  TRANSPORTATION  FOR  A  LESSER DISTANCE THAN WHAT IS
REQUIRED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION TO CHILDREN WHO HAVE A  PARENT  OR
LEGAL  GUARDIAN  WITH  A  PHYSICALLY LIMITING IMPAIRMENT WHICH PROHIBITS
SUCH PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN FROM ACCOMPANYING THEIR CHILD TO  OR  FROM
SCHOOL,  AS  CERTIFIED  BY THEIR PHYSICIAN, PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT OR NURSE
PRACTITIONER.
  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.