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History
- Recommit, enacting clause stricken
- Referred to education
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S3344
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the reimbursement of school districts for the transportation of students
Purpose
This legislation would require a city with a population of one million or more to provide reimbursement for the cost of providing transportation after 5:00 PM if the nonpublic or public school offers regularly scheduled academic classes until 5:00 PM or later.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 would amend section 3635 of the education law by adding a new subdivision 8 that would require a city school district located in a city with a population of one million or more to reimburse the cost of providing transportation by a means other than public transportation after 5:00 PM if the nonpublic or public school offers regularly scheduled academic classes until 5:00 PM or later. To be eligible for reimbursement, a school must begin classes no later than 9:30 AM.
Eligible students would be those in grades K-2 who live at least one-half mile from their school and those in grades 3-6 who live at least one mile from their school. In order for a student's transportation to be eligible for reimbursement, the parent or guardian would be required to submit a request by April 1.
The cost to the school district of reimbursing the school or parents or guardians shall be eligible for state aid in the same manner and at the same rate as other transportation services.
The school district would not be required to pay more in reimbursements than it would spend, including capital costs, to provide transportation for such students if it was providing such transportation directly.
The Chancellor of New York City Schools would be required to promulgate regulations to implement this provision.
Justification
In New York City, some schools have academic course schedules that run from 9:30 AM or earlier to 5:00 PM or later. Students walking or riding an MTA bus or subway home after 5:00 PM face dangers due to rush hour traffic. Moreover, the sun has already set by 5:00 PM for much of the school year, adding dim conditions to the hazards facing these students. Therefore, parents have to choose between allowing young children to travel alone at night in heavy traffic or expending work time and tight money to provide daily escorts so that their children can have the best education possible. Particularly in these troubled economic times, parents face many difficult choices as they struggle to make ends meet without limiting their children's opportunities.
This bill would compensate them for those costs and ensure that children are not put at risk on their trip home. The authority to determine how best to implement this program is placed in the hands of the Chancellor of the New York City School District, as many of the logistical questions are best addressed by those with local knowledge.
Fiscal implications
The cost is capped at the current cost to the city to provide transportation for these students, so there should not be additional cost.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of July, 2011.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.