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This bill would require each school bus used to transport students to and from schools pursuant to a contract with the Department of Education (DOE) to be equipped with a two-way radio or other communication device allowing communication with the operator of the school bus. This bill would also require each bus used to transport students to and from schools pursuant to a contract with the DOE to be equipped a GPS a tracking device, and requires authorized parents and guardians to have access to the real time location of their child’s school bus whenever it is in use.

  • Enacted

History

City Council
Returned Unsigned by Mayor
Administration
City Charter Rule Adopted
City Council
Sent to Mayor by Council
City Council
Pass
Approved by Council
Committee on Education
Hearing Held by Committee
Committee on Education
Amendment Proposed by Comm
Committee on Education
Amended by Committee
Committee on Education
Pass
Approved by Committee
Committee on Education
Hearing Held by Committee
Committee on Education
Laid Over by Committee
City Council
Re-referred to Committee by Council
City Council
Referred to Comm by Council
City Council
Introduced by Council

Int. No. 1099-A

 

By Council Members Kallos, Treyger, Deutsch, Brannan, Yeger, Dromm, Cabrera, Cumbo, Rivera, Constantinides, Koslowitz, Holden, Rose, Koo, Chin, Gibson, Barron, Levin, Ampry-Samuel, Ayala, Van Bramer, Miller and Ulrich

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the placement of communication devices and tracking devices on school buses

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Chapter 6 of title 19 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding new sections 19-608 and 19-609 to read as follows:

§ 19-608 Communication devices on school buses. a. Any bus or other motor vehicle used to transport students to or from schools pursuant to a contract between a school bus vendor and the department of education shall, at all times that students are present on such vehicle, be equipped with an operational two-way radio or other authorized communication device capable of allowing communication with the driver of such vehicle.

b. The department of education shall promulgate rules regarding the safe usage of such communication devices.

§ 19-609 Global positioning systems on school buses. a. For purposes of this section, the term “GPS” means a global positioning system, or a comparable location tracking technology, that uses navigational satellites to determine a user’s location and velocity in real time.

b. Any bus or other motor vehicle used to transport students to or from schools pursuant to a contract between a school bus vendor and the department of education shall, at all times that students are present on such vehicle, be equipped with a GPS tracking device.

c. A GPS tracking device installed on any bus or other motor vehicle used to transport students to or from schools shall be operational at all times such vehicle is in use pursuant to the  contract.

d. GPS data regarding the real time location and velocity of the bus or other motor vehicle used to transport students to or from schools shall be made available electronically to the department, as well as to authorized parents or guardians of students who are being transported by such bus or other motor vehicle.

e. Records created by any such GPS tracking devices shall be maintained in an electronic database.

f. No information that is otherwise required to be reported or be made available electronically pursuant to this section shall be reported or be made available electronically in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law related to the privacy of information or that would interfere with law enforcement investigations or otherwise conflict with the interests of law enforcement.

§ 2. This local law takes effect the first day of the 2019-2020 school year.

 

 

AES/KET/SMD/BG

LS# 1438

12/20/18 11:30a