Relates to the disqualification of certain persons from acting as school bus monitors and drivers

2 Co-sponsors

• Tony Avella
• Andrew J. Lanza

BILL NUMBER:S883

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law and the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to disqualification of persons employed as school bus monitors and bus drivers

Purpose or general idea of bill

To prohibit individuals who are convicted of certain offenses involving children from being school bus monitors and to prohibit individuals convicted of "Leandra's Law" violations from being school bus drivers for a period of five years.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1: Amends the Education Law by adding a new section 3635-d which defines school bus monitors as "any adult employed by a school district or a private entity to ride on a school bus for the purpose of ensuring the safety of its passengers or for monitoring the conduct of the bus passengers" and prohibits individuals who have been convicted of certain offenses involving children, sexual based offenses and drug offenses from being school bus monitors. It also requires school bus monitors to be fingerprinted to determine whether or not they have been convicted of a crime that would disqualify them from being a school bus monitor.

Sections 2 and 3: Amends subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 509-cc of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to provide that an individual is disqualified from being a school bus driver for a period of five years from the date of last conviction of violating paragraph (b) of subdivision two-a of section 1192 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law ("Leandra's Law").

Section 4: Effective date.

Justification

Current law provides that individuals who are convicted of certain offenses involving children, sexual based offenses and drug offenses are permanently or temporarily disqualified from being a school bus driver. However, school bus monitors who routinely ride school buses along with children are not subject to the same restrictions as school bus drivers. This legislation would subject school bus monitors to same restrictions as school bus drivers.

Additionally, current law provides that an individual is disqualified from being a school bus driver for the extent of the time their license is suspended, with a minimum of six months, if they are convicted of a violation of section 1192 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (DWI). However, there is no additional penalty if the violation occurred with a passenger under 16 years of age in the vehicle in violation of "Leandra's Law". This legislation would disqualify an individual from being a school bus driver for five years from date of last conviction for a "Leandra's Law" violation.

Legislative history

S.6157-A of 2012: Passed Senate. Died in Assembly Education

Fiscal implications

None to State.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law; provided that any rules or regulations necessary for the timely implementation of the provisions of this act are authorized to be made on or before such effective date.