ยง 1709. Powers and duties of boards of education.
The said board of education of every union free school district shall have power, and it shall be its duty:
24. To provide transportation, home-teaching or special classes, as defined under sections forty-four hundred one and forty-four hundred two of this chapter for physically or mentallly handicapped and delinquent children. Such transportation, home-teaching or special classes, when provided pursuant to this subdivision, shall be granted to all such children irrespective of the school they legally attend.
25. a. To purchase and maintain, when authorized by a vote of the qualified voters of the school district, a motor vehicle or vehicles to be used for the transportation of the school children of the district. Any replacement of a motor vehicle or vehicles, necessitated by damage to or loss of such vehicles, owned by the school district and used for the transportation of pupils residing within the district, may be purchased by the board of education without voter approval, using any unencumbered funds in the general fund or by the issuance of budget notes in accordance with section 29.00 of the local finance law, in addition to any available insurance proceeds.
b. Such motor vehicle or vehicles may be leased to another school district or to a board of cooperative educational services or to a county vocational education and extension board or to an Indian tribe for educational purposes when not needed for such transportation.
c. Likewise when not so needed such motor vehicle or vehicles may be leased to a school district or an Indian tribe, for the purpose of transporting children and instructors in connection with (1) a recreation project or a youth service project operated by a school district or by an Indian tribe, if such project is authorized and approved by the state youth commission, or (2) a youth bureau or agency or activity or project of a county, town, city, village or an Indian tribe which is devoted to the welfare of youth therein or to providing leisure-time activities for youth or assistance to children, as authorized in section ninety-five of the general municipal law, or (3) one or more playgrounds and neighborhood recreation centers operated and maintained by one or more cities except New York, Buffalo and Rochester, counties except Erie and the counties within the city of New York, towns, villages, or Indian tribes, whether or not any school board or district joins in such operating and maintaining, as authorized in section two hundred forty-four-b of the general municipal law.
d. The board of education may lease such motor vehicle or vehicles from a board of cooperative educational services or from a county vocational education and extension board.
e. Under emergency conditions, as determined by the commissioner, the board of education may lease such vehicle or vehicles from sources other than a school district, board of cooperative educational services or county vocational education and extension board.
f. In any case when such motor vehicle shall be leased as provided in this subdivision, public liability and property damage insurance, fire insurance and compensation insurance of drivers shall be provided and collision insurance shall be provided in the amount of the value of the vehicle, to protect the lessor. The additional cost of such insurance shall be paid by the lessee. No part of the costs and expenses resulting from operation, maintenance and repair of such vehicles during the leasing thereof shall be included in determining the amount of any form of state aid received by such school district.
g. The board of education is authorized to provide regional transportation services by rendering such services jointly with other school districts or boards of cooperative educational services. Such services may include pupil transportation between home and school, transportation during the day to and from school and a special education program or service or a program at a board of cooperative educational services or an approved shared program at another school district, transportation for field trips or to and from extracurricular activities, and cooperative school bus maintenance.
h. The board of education is authorized to enter into a contract with another school district, a county, municipality, or the state office of children and family services to provide transportation for children, including contracts to provide such transportation as regional transportation services, provided that the contract cost is appropriate. In determining the appropriate transportation contract cost, the transportation service provider school district shall use a calculation consistent with regulations adopted by the commissioner for the purpose of assuring that charges reflect the true costs that would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of a competitive transportation business.
* i. In addition to the authority granted in paragraph e of this subdivision, the board of education shall be authorized to lease a motor vehicle or vehicles to be used for the transportation of the children of the district from sources other than a school district, board of cooperative educational services or county vocational education and extension board under the conditions specified in this paragraph. No such agreement for the lease of a motor vehicle or vehicles shall be for a term of more than one school year, provided that when authorized by a vote of the qualified voters of the district such lease may have a term of up to five years. Where the board of education enters a lease of a motor vehicle or vehicles pursuant to this paragraph for a term of one school year or less, such board shall not be authorized to enter into another lease of the same or an equivalent replacement vehicle or vehicles, as determined by the commissioner, without obtaining approval of the voters.
* NB Repealed September 1, 2017
27. To contract with any person, corporation or other school district for the conveyance of pupils residing within the district, when authorized to do so under subdivision nineteen of section two thousand twenty-one of this chapter, by vote of the inhabitants of the district entitled to vote, or to contract for the operation, maintenance and garaging of motor vehicles owned by the district, in accordance with such rules and regulations as such board of education may establish, consistent with the regulations of the commissioner. Upon authorization by a school district meeting, every such contract of transportation may be made for a period not exceeding five years, notwithstanding any provision of any other law inconsistent herewith.
41. Where the district has provided transportation to students enrolled in such district to a school sponsored field trip, extracurricular activity or any other similar event, it shall provide transportation back to either the point of departure or to the appropriate school in the district, unless the parent or legal guardian of a student participating in such event has provided the school district with written notice, consistent with district policy, authorizing an alternative form of return transportation for such student or unless intervening circumstances make such transportation impractical. 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, a representative of the school district shall remain with the student until such student's parent or legal guardian has been (a) contacted and informed of the intervening circumstances which make such transportation impractical and (b) such student had been delivered to his or her parent or legal guardian.