Relates to contracts for transportation of children

3 Co-sponsors

• Ruben Diaz
• Ruth Hassell-Thompson
• Andrew J. Lanza

BILL NUMBER:S1368A

Title of bill

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to contracts for the transportation of children

Summary of provisions of bill

This proposal amends Section 236 of the Family Court Act to enable the City of New York to award contracts for transportation of prekindergarten and early intervention children through a request for proposals process and to require consideration of requirements relating to the employment, compensation, hiring, and retention of employees when evaluating such proposals.

The references to the board of education of the city school district are to the definition included section 2590-B(1) of the Education Law as amended by Chapter 91 of the Laws of 2002.

Justification

For many years the New York city Department of Transportation has procured and administered contracts for the transportation of preschool special education children and developmentally delayed infants and toddlers under the Early Intervention program.

Several years ago, the City made the determination to move these contracts to the Board of Education of the City School District of the city of New York (known in the city as the Department of Education or DOE), which already provides transportation to a much larger student population. The transfer was made to draw on DOE's expertise in this area, thereby enhancing the performance of this critical function. This proposal facilitated the unification of bus service under one department.

This bill will allow DOE to award these contracts through a request for proposals and to require contractors to accept requirements for the protection of bus company employees. Including these requirements in the RFP's will ensure stability in the provision of services to vulnerable children by an industry that faces a growing demand for qualified drivers and other employees. Companies have had a hard time recruiting qualified drivers, and to a certain extent, escorts or attendants. Requiring the inclusion of employee protection provisions in these transportation contracts will safeguard the children by helping to ensure retention of an experienced pool of drivers and other employees by protecting the wages and benefits of such employees.

Legislative history

2009-10 - S.4625/A.8102 - Passed Senate

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

There is minimal fiscal impact to the Local government for this legislation. The New York City Department of Education has routinely included these provisions in their bus contracts for the transportation of school children since 1979. This legislation would merely codify this existing practice for pre-K and early intervention

bus contracts, which were transferred to the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Education in 2006.

Effective date

Immediately.