NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3185
SPONSOR: Fahy TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to universal pre-kinder-
garten school bus transportation
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would ensure that Universal Pre-Kindergarten transportation
can be reimbursed like any other pupil transportation service, allowing
for the expansion of safe travel to and from beneficial educational
programs for the youth of our State
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends Section 3635 of the Education Law to state that costs
for pupil transportation for the purposes of Universal Pre-Kindergarten
and District-sponsored are aidable.
Section 2: This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
2018-2019 school year and all years after.
JUSTIFICATION:
The State currently allows school districts to offer pupil transporta-
tion for Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs, but the legislation that
authorized this simultaneously prohibited transportation aid reimburse-
ment for these services. While some have suggested that this can be
achieved at no cost to the school district by route sharing, most
programs end at noon whereas the regular school bus routes do not resume
until the end of the "normal" school day. Current law has the uninten-
tional consequence of creating an unfunded mandate on school districts,
who must pay for additional routes without reimbursement by the state.
It also discourages the expansion of Pre- Kindergarten by creating a
major barrier - namely, transportation expenses - for school districts.
This bill would ensure that Universal Pm-Kindergarten transportation can
be reimbursed like any other pupil transportation service, allowing for
the expansion of safe travel to and from beneficial educational programs
for the youth of our State.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A5467 2019-20
A2660 2021-22
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to the 2021-2022
school year and all years thereafter
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3185
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 2, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FAHY, LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to universal pre-kinder-
garten school bus transportation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph g of subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the educa-
2 tion law, as added by chapter 244 of the laws of 2012, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
5 trustees or board of education of any school district may, in its
6 discretion, provide transportation for students attending a universal
7 pre-kindergarten program in addition to transportation funded by such
8 program or transportation for students attending another district spon-
9 sored or district-run pre-kindergarten program, within mileage limits
10 established by the school district; if provided such transportation
11 shall be offered equally to all children in like circumstances residing
12 in the district. The cost of providing such transportation shall be a
13 charge upon the district [and]; provided that for purposes of subdivi-
14 sion seven of section thirty-six hundred two of this [chapter] article,
15 such pupils shall be considered [non] allowable pupils and the costs of
16 their transportation shall [not] be aidable.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
18 2025--2026 school year and all school years commencing thereafter.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03493-01-3
