What's happening
This bill allows the Rochester city school district to create a five-year pilot program expanding transportation for K-6 students living over half a mile from school.
Why it matters
Targets Expanded Access for Younger Students. The bill specifically extends transportation services to K-3 students in its first year, then expands to all K-6 students in subsequent years, allowing more young children to safely get to school even if they live as little as half a mile away.
Temporary and Data-Driven. As a five-year pilot, the law requires the district to collect and report data on both costs and benefits, laying groundwork for evidence-based decisions on whether to make the changes permanent or scale them further.
Fiscal Safeguards and Flexibility. The legislation caps state reimbursement at the 2019-2020 level to control costs, but also allows the district to apply for additional funding if enrollment or other costs rise, balancing fiscal responsibility with flexibility for changing needs.
Equity in Implementation. The requirement that transportation, if offered, must be available to all children in similar circumstances ensures that the program is implemented fairly, preventing selective access and promoting equal opportunity across the district.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Bus More Rochester Students
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2307
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 22, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT in relation to the transportation of students in the Rochester city school district
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. a. Notwithstanding the provision of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, including subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the education law, the city school district of the city of Rochester, upon approval of a vote by the board of education of a plan which describes fiscal and educational outcomes and implementation strategy and notification to the commissioner of education by February 1, 2020, may enter into a transportation pilot program for a period not to exceed five school years beginning with the 2020-2021 school year to provide transportation services for children attending grades kindergarten through 3 in the 2020-2021 school year, and for children attending kindergarten through 6 in the 2021-2022 school year and subsequent years, and who live more than one-half mile and less than fifteen miles from the school which they legally attend provided such transportation, if offered, shall be offered equally to all children in like circumstances residing in the district.
b. For the purposes of computing approved transportation expenses for transportation aid for transportation provided under this pilot program, expenses for transportation provided pursuant to this pilot program for children attending grades kindergarten through 3 in the 2020-2021 school year, and for children attending kindergarten through 6 in the 2021-2022 school year and subsequent years, who live more than one-half mile and less than fifteen miles from the school which they legally attend shall be included. Transportation expenses shall be reimbursed pursuant to subdivision 7 of section 3602 of the education law during such pilot
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00958-01-9
A. 2307 2
period in an amount not to exceed the 2019-2020 approved transportation aid amount pursuant to such subdivision 7.
c. In the event costs for providing transportation for children that would otherwise be aidable without this pilot program increase due to enrollment changes or other customary increases in cost as defined in regulation by the commissioner of education, the city school district of the city of Rochester may apply to the commissioner of education for a waiver to receive additional transportation aid in excess of the 2019-2020 transportation aid amount during the pilot program for services that would otherwise be allowable transportation expenses.
d. The city school district of the city of Rochester shall provide a report to the commissioner of education on the results of the first four years of the pilot program, including data that describes the costs and benefits of the program, by September 30, 2024.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.