ยง 305. General powers and duties
The commissioner of education is hereby charged with the following powers and duties:
14. a. All contracts for the transportation of school children, all contracts to maintain school buses owned or leased by a school district that are used for the transportation of school children, all contracts for mobile instructional units, and all contracts to provide, maintain and operate cafeteria or restaurant service by a private food service management company shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner, who may disapprove a proposed contract if, in his opinion, the best interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Except as provided in paragraph e of this subdivision, all such contracts involving an annual expenditure in excess of the amount specified for purchase contracts in the bidding requirements of the general municipal law shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, which responsibility shall be determined by the board of education or the trustee of a district, with power hereby vested in the commissioner to reject any or all bids if, in his opinion, the best interests of the district will be promoted thereby and, upon such rejection of all bids, the commissioner shall order the board of education or trustee of the district to seek, obtain and consider new proposals. All proposals for such transportation, maintenance, mobile instructional units, or cafeteria and restaurant service shall be in such form as the commissioner may prescribe. Advertisement for bids shall be published in a newspaper or newspapers designated by the board of education or trustee of the district having general circulation within the district for such purpose. Such advertisement shall contain a statement of the time when and place where all bids received pursuant to such advertisement will be publicly opened and read either by the school authorities or by a person or persons designated by them. All bids received shall be publicly opened and read at the time and place so specified. At least five days shall elapse between the first publication of such advertisement and the date so specified for the opening and reading of bids. The requirement for competitive bidding shall not apply to an award of a contract for the transportation of pupils or a contract for mobile instructional units, if such award is based on an evaluation of proposals in response to a request for proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this subdivision. The requirement for competitive bidding shall not apply to annual, biennial, or triennial extensions of a contract nor shall the requirement for competitive bidding apply to quadrennial or quinquennial year extensions of a contract involving transportation of pupils, maintenance of school buses or mobile instructional units secured either through competitive bidding or through evaluation of proposals in response to a request for proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this subdivision, when such extensions (1) are made by the board of education or the trustee of a district, under rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner, and, (2) do not extend the original contract period beyond five years from the date cafeteria and restaurant service commenced thereunder and in the case of contracts for the transportation of pupils, for the maintenance of school buses or for mobile instructional units, that such contracts may be extended, except that power is hereby vested in the commissioner, in addition to his existing statutory authority to approve or disapprove transportation or maintenance contracts, (i) to reject any extension of a contract beyond the initial term thereof if he finds that amount to be paid by the district to the contractor in any year of such proposed extension fails to reflect any decrease in the regional consumer price index for the N.Y., N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) during the preceding twelve month period; and (ii) to reject any extension of a contract after ten years from the date transportation or maintenance service commenced thereunder, or mobile instructional units were first provided, if in his opinion, the best interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Upon such rejection of any proposed extension, the commissioner may order the board of education or trustee of the district to seek, obtain and consider bids pursuant to the provisions of this section. The board of education or the trustee of a school district electing to extend a contract as provided herein, may, in its discretion, increase the amount to be paid in each year of the contract extension by an amount not to exceed the regional consumer price index increase for the N.Y., N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), during the preceding twelve month period, provided it has been satisfactorily established by the contractor that there has been at least an equivalent increase in the amount of his cost of operation, during the period of the contract.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision, in the case of any emergency arising out of an accident or other unforeseen occurrence or condition affecting pupil transportation services within a district, and requiring immediate action which cannot await competitive bidding, interim contracts for pupil transportation services may be let by the board of education or the trustee of such district for a period not to exceed one month, pending the award of a contract for such services in compliance with the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision.
c. Each board of education, or the trustees, of a school district which elected or elects to extend one or more pupil transportation contracts may extend a contract in an amount which is in excess of the maximum increase allowed by use of the CPI referenced in paragraph a of this subdivision. Such excess amount shall not be greater than the sum of the following: (i) the sum of the actual cost of qualifying criminal history and driver licensing testing fees attributable to special requirements for drivers of school buses pursuant to articles nineteen and nineteen-A of the vehicle and traffic law plus the actual cost of any diagnostic tests and physical performance tests that are deemed to be necessary by an examining physician or the chief school officer to determine whether an applicant to drive a school bus under the terms of the contract has the physical and mental ability to operate a school transportation conveyance and to satisfactorily perform the other responsibilities of a school bus driver pursuant to regulations of the commissioner; (ii) in a school district located in a city with at least one million inhabitants, the actual cost of clean air technology filters and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology; (iii) in a school district located in a city with at least one million inhabitants, with respects only to any extension beginning in fiscal year two thousand five--two thousand six, the sum of the actual cost of providing school bus attendants including the actual cost of criminal history record checks for school bus attendant applicants and training and instruction for school bus attendants pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-nine-d of the vehicle and traffic law plus up to five percent of such cost for necessary administrative services; and (iv) the actual cost of equipment or vehicle modification, or training required, by any state or local legislation or regulation promulgated or effective on or after June first, two thousand five. Such costs shall be approved by the commissioner upon documentation provided by the school district and contractor as required by the commissioner.
* d. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs a, b and c of this subdivision, the board of education or the trustee of a district and a contractor providing pupil transportation services to such district may amend a contract for pupil transportation services upon a finding that such amendment is necessary to comply with any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation imposed after the execution of such contract, or to enhance the safety of pupil transportation, as determined by the board or trustee subject to the approval of the commissioner pursuant to regulations which shall require demonstrable enhancements in pupil safety and/or increased savings consistent with maintaining pupil safety. Such amendment shall cause no additional cost to the state, locality or school district. The commissioner shall not approve such an amendment if the commissioner finds that it circumvents the competitive bidding requirements contained in paragraph a of this subdivision, or otherwise violates this section or any other provision of law, or fails to increase or maintain the safety of pupil transportation. * NB Repealed January 1, 2017
e. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law or charter, a board of education or a trustee of a district, pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner, may award a contract for the transportation of pupils or a contract for mobile instructional units involving an annual expenditure in excess of the amount specified for purchase contracts in the bidding requirements of the general municipal law in compliance with the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision or subsequent to an evaluation of proposals submitted in response to a request for proposals prepared by or for the board of education or trustee of a district. The commissioner, in addition to his existing statutory authority to approve or disapprove transportation contracts, may reject any award of a transportation contract or a contract for mobile instructional units that is based on an evaluation of proposals submitted in response to a request for proposals if he finds that (1) the contractor is not the most responsive to the request for proposals, or (2) that the best interests of the district will be promoted thereby.
f. When a board of education or a trustee of a school district elects to receive proposals submitted in response to a request for proposals, such board of education or trustee shall evaluate each proposal from a responding contractor according to criteria established by the commissioner. For evaluation of proposals related to contracts for pupil transportation services, such criteria shall include at a minimum (i) the previous experience of the contractor in transporting pupils, (ii) the name of each transportation company the contractor has been an owner or a manager and previous experience, (iii) a description of any safety programs implemented by the contractor, (iv) a record of accidents in motor vehicles under the control of the contractor, (v) driving history of employees of the contractor, (vi) inspection records and model year of the motor vehicles under the control of the contractor, (vii) maintenance schedule of the motor vehicles under the control of the contractor, (viii) financial analysis of the contractor, and (ix) compliance with insurance requirements. For evaluation of proposals related to contracts for mobile instructional units, such criteria shall include at a minimum (1) the previous experience of the contractor in providing mobile instructional units for use by public school districts, (2) the name of each transportation company or manufacturer in which the contractor or any of the contractor's officers has been an owner or a manager or has had a controlling interest, (3) a description of any vehicle safety standards included in the design standards for the mobile instructional units under the control of the contractor that exceed applicable standards defined in statute or regulations, (4) inspection records and model year of the mobile instructional units under the control of the contractor, (5) maintenance schedule of the mobile instructional units under the control of the contractor, (6) financial analysis of the contractor and (7) compliance with insurance requirements.