Senate Bill S1910

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1910

SPONSOR: FUNKE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to allowing for the
transportation of students by a vehicle used for agricultural education
purposes

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation would allow school students to be transported in vehi-
cles other than registered school buses as long as they are used in
agricultural education.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: adds a new subdivision 57 of section 305 of the education law
to allow for the use of vehicles used in agricultural education for
transporting pupils.

              

Section 2: provides for an immediate effective date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Of the 150 or so secondary agriculture education programs in New York
State, perhaps 10 to 15 programs have an occasional need to use a school
truck vehicle as part of the agriculture curriculum. In these instances,
the vehicle is used as an educational resource providing students with
opportunities that are practical, real-world applications beneficial to
their future agriculturally-related work, jobs or careers. Such tasks
are related to a variety of classroom instruction units and are taught
as part of the classroom instruction in multifaceted agriculturally
related settings.

Uses of a truck as an educational tool are numerous. Students learn how
to properly load and secure various agricultural resources, attach
implements such as trailers, and a host of other applications typically
found in agriculture settings. A few circumstances that would apply:
load and secure hay or animal feed; transport sap buckets/pumps or other
equipment to a sugarbush; load and secure lawn mowers or other landscape
equipment. Learning to safely carry out and participate in these tasks
are an important part of the educational component.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.