S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                 595--A
    Cal. No. 513

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 5, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  FUSCHILLO, AVELLA, GOLDEN, HANNON, LARKIN -- read
  twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
  Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in
  accordance  with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said
  committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- reported favor-
  ably from said committee, ordered to first and second report,  ordered
  to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place
  in the order of third reading

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

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00468-05-2

S. 595--A                           2

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
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.