To: The New York State House, The New York State Senate, and Governor Andrew Cuomo
Governor Cuomo-Please Sign NYS Bill S248B/A1470B-2015 into law
Please ask Governor Cuomo to sign NYS Bill S248B/A1470B-2015 into law so that children who live within the two or three-mile designated area and are not zoned for school bus transportation and have a parent who is ill can be considered for school bus transportation by their school district. These children will then have the opportunity to possibly secure a safe and consistent way to get to and from school.
Why is this important?
As a parent who has been battling a rare disease for many years which left me gravely ill at points and for which I underwent an autologous stem cell transplant, I have been advocating for the passage of this school bus transportation bill since 2011. We live too close to our zoned elementary school to be eligible for school bus transportation provided by our school district and had to find alternate ways to transport our children.
Various versions of this bill have been passed in previous years with extremely wide support. NYS Bill S595 passed on June 14, 2011. NYS Bill A9267 passed on June 19, 2012, and NYS Bill S595A passed on June 21, 2012. On August 17, 2012, Governor Cuomo vetoed the bill. The bill language was modified several times to address concerns. NYS Bill S738 was reintroduced and passed on June 11, 2013. NYS Bill S6404 passed on June 10, 2014. NYS Bill S248B passed on June 15, 2015. NYS Bill A1470B remains in the Assembly Education Committee.
Please ask Assemblywoman Nolan to put this bill on the Education Committee Agenda. Please ask Governor Cuomo to kindly sign this important piece of legislation into law. The passage of this bill can take away further unnecessary burdens placed upon parents and children that may already be climbing an uphill battle each and every day.
Thank you for your support.