Policy 5720

TRANSPORTATION
5720 TRANSPORTATION OF STUDENTS

Requests for Transportation to and from Nonpublic Schools

The parent or person in parental relation of a parochial or private school child residing in the District who desires his or her child to be transported to a parochial, private, or charter school within or outside the District during the next school year, must submit a written request to the Board no later than April 1 of the preceding year, or within 30 days of establishing residence in the District. The District will publish the April 1 date in its school calendar and/or local newspaper as a reminder to parents of this deadline. For those occasions where a transportation request is received after the statutory deadline (April 1) and there is determined to be ample room on a bus that travels near the vicinity of the child's residence and the child can be carried without materially altering previously established transportation arrangements, transportation may be provided for the current school year. Late requests will not be denied where a reasonable explanation is provided for the delay. 

Transportation will be provided to the nonpublic school of their choice provided it allows substantially equivalent instruction and is within a maximum distance of 15 miles from home. All distances shall be measured by the nearest available route along public roads from the home to the school. The measurement of such route shall be from the point where the resident's driveway meets the public road surface to the school's designated drop-off point.

In accordance with New York State law effective September 1, 1982, private and non-public students who live in excess of 15 miles from the school of their choice will be eligible for transportation from a designated pickup point to the school only if service is being provided to that school for other private and non-public students within the 15 mile limit. The designated pick-up point will be William Munn School. Transportation to the designated point is the responsibility of the parents.

Transportation to Nonpublic Schools on Holidays

The District will share its calendar and start and dismissal times with nonpublic schools before the start of the school year. The District is not required to provide transportation to nonpublic schools on days on which the District's schools are not in session.

Transportation for Nonpublic School Students with Disabilities who are Parentally Placed

For students with disabilities, ages 5 through 21, who are parentally placed in nonpublic schools outside their district of residency, if special education services are to be provided to a student at a site other than the nonpublic school, the school district of location is responsible for providing the special education services, including, as applicable, arranging and providing transportation necessary for the student to receive special education services.

The district of residence remains responsible to provide transportation to parentally placed nonpublic school students from the student's home to the nonpublic school.

Transportation of Students with Disabilities

Transportation of students with disabilities in the District may not exceed 50 miles one way from the student's home to the appropriate special service or program, unless the Commissioner certifies that no appropriate nonresidential special service or program is available within 50 miles. In that event the Commissioner may then establish transportation arrangements. Students with disabilities who are 4 years 9 months old as of December 1, shall be eligible to be transported until the end of the school year during which they attain their 21st birthday.

Deaf children shall be eligible for transportation beginning at age 3 and ending in the school year which they attain their 21st birthday.

Student Information

Upon written consent of the parent or person in parental relation, every school bus which is used to regularly transport students with disabilities will maintain the following information about each student with a disability being transported:

a) Student's name;
b) Nature of the student's disability;
c) Name of the student's parent, guardian, or person in parental relation and one or more telephone numbers where that person can be reached in an emergency; and/or
d) Name and telephone number of any other person designated by such parent, guardian, or person in parental relation who can be contacted in an emergency.

This information will be used solely for the purpose of contacting the student's parent, guardian, person in parental relation, or designee in the event of an emergency involving the student, will be kept in a manner which retains the privacy of the student, and will not be accessible to any person other than the driver or a teacher acting in a supervisory capacity. In the event that the driver or teacher is incapacitated, this information may be accessed by any emergency service provider.

This information will be updated as needed, but at least once each school year and will be destroyed if parental consent is revoked, the student no longer attends the school, or the disability no longer exists.

Transportation of Non-Resident Students

The District shall not extend its bus routes outside of the District to pick up non-resident students. However, in the context of cooperative transportation for special students with other school districts, the District may transport non-resident students.

Non-resident families must provide their own transportation.

Transportation to School-Sponsored Events

Where the District has provided transportation to students enrolled in the District to a school-sponsored field trip, extracurricular activity, or any other similar event, it will also provide transportation back to either the point of departure or to the appropriate school in the District unless the principal or his/her designee authorizes such alternate transportation. The principal shall require written application prior to approval. As an exception to this policy a coach may release a student to the parent/guardian for transportation from an inter-scholastic event upon the receipt of a written request from the parent/guardian.

In cases where intervening circumstances make transportation of a student back to the point of departure or to the appropriate school in the District impractical, and the parent has not authorized alternative return transportation, a representative of the District will remain with the student until the student's parent or legal guardian has been contacted and informed of the intervening circumstances and the student has been delivered to his or her parent.

Transportation in Personal Vehicles

Personal cars of teachers and staff will not be used to transport students except in the event of extenuating circumstances and authorized by the administration.

Student Transportation to Day Care Centers

The District will transport eligible District students to and/or from day care centers within the Spencerport District in accord with New York State Education guidelines.

In accordance with Education Law Section 3635, a child care location is a place, other than the child's home, where care for less than 24 hours a day is provided on a regular basis for a child who attends school within the District with the provision that such place must be located within the School District. In defining the child care locations, the statute states that it includes, but is not limited to, a variety of child care services such as day care centers, family care homes, and in-home care by nonrelatives.



Policy References:
Education Law §§ 1604, 1709, 1804, 1807, 1903, 1950, 2503, 2554, 2590-e, 3242, 3602-c, 3621(15), 3623-a(2c), 3635, 4401-a, 4401(4), 4402, 4404, 4405, and 4410-6
Vehicle and Traffic Law § 375(20)(1) and 375(21-i)


NOTE:  Refer also to 
Policy 7131 - Education of Students in Temporary Housing



Adopted: 6/22/99
Revised: 9/6/22

Policy 5720