N.J.S.A. 18A:39-1 — Transportation of pupils remote from school.

18A:39-1 Transportation of pupils remote from school. 18A:39-1. Whenever in any district there are elementary school pupils who live more than two miles from their public school of attendance or secondary school pupils who live more than 2 1/2 miles from their public school of attendance, the district shall provide transportation to and from school for these pupils. When any school district provides any transportation for public school pupils to and from school pursuant to this section, transportation shall be supplied to school pupils residing in such school district in going to and from any remote school other than a public school, not operated for profit in whole or in part, located within the State not more than 20 miles from the residence of the pupil; except that if the district is located in a county of the third class with a population of not less than 80,000 and not more than 120,000 transportation shall be provided to a nonpublic school located outside the State not more than 20 miles from the residence of the pupil, if there is no appropriate nonpublic school within the State located closer to the residence of the pupil; provided the per pupil cost of the lowest bid received does not exceed $675 for the 1992-93 school year or the amount determined for subsequent years pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a), and if such bid shall exceed that cost then the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the pupil shall be eligible to receive $675 for the 1992-93 school year or the amount determined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a) for subsequent years toward the cost of his transportation to a qualified school other than a public school, regardless of whether such transportation is along established public school routes. It shall be the obligation of the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the pupil attending a remote school, other than a public school, not operating for profit in whole or in part, to register said pupil with the office of the secretary of the board of education at the time and in the manner specified by rules and regulations of the State board in order to be eligible for the transportation provided by this section. If the registration of any such pupil is not completed by September 1 of the school year and if it is necessary for the board of education to enter into a contract establishing a new route in order to provide such transportation, then the board shall not be required to provide it, but in lieu thereof the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the pupil shall be eligible to receive $675 or the amount determined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (18A:39-1a), or an amount computed by multiplying 1/180 times the number of school days remaining in the school year at the time of registration, times $675 for the 1992-93 school year or the amount determined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a) for subsequent years, whichever is the smaller amount. Whenever any regional school district provides any transportation for pupils attending schools other than public schools pursuant to this section, said regional district shall assume responsibility for the transportation of all such pupils, and the cost of such transportation for pupils below the grade level for which the regional district was organized shall be prorated by the regional district among the constituent districts on a per pupil basis, after approval of such costs by the county superintendent. This section shall not require school districts to provide any transportation for pupils attending a school other than a public school, where the only transportation presently provided by said district is for school children transported pursuant to chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes or for pupils transported to a vocational, technical or other public school offering a specialized program. Any transportation to a school, other than a public school, shall be pursuant to the same rules and regulations promulgated by the State board as governs transportation to any public school. The board of education may make rules and contracts for the pupil transportation provided pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prohibit a board of education from making contracts for the transportation of pupils to a school in an adjoining district, when such pupils are transferred to the district by order of the county superintendent, or when any pupils shall attend school in a district other than that in which they shall reside by virtue of an agreement made by the respective boards of education. Nothing herein contained shall limit or diminish in any way any of the provisions for transportation for children pursuant to chapter 46 of this Title. L.1967, c.271; amended 1968,c.29,s.1; 1968,c.200; 1968,c.299; 1974,c.78; 1977,c.206; 1981,c.57,s.1; 1985,c.513; 1990,c.52,s.50; 1992,c.33,s.1. 18A:39-1a Adjustment of non-public school transportation costs. 2. For the 2002-2003 school year, the maximum amount of nonpublic school transportation costs per pupil provided for in N.J.S.18A:39-1 shall equal $735 and this amount shall be increased in each subsequent year in direct proportion to the increase in the State transportation aid per pupil in the year prior to the prebudget year compared to the amount for the prebudget year or by the CPI, whichever is greater. As used in this section, State transportation aid per pupil shall equal the total State transportation aid payments made pursuant to section 15 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-57) divided by the number of pupils eligible for transportation. "CPI" means the average annual increase, expressed as a decimal, in the consumer price index for the New York City and Philadelphia areas during the fiscal year preceding the prebudget year as reported by the United States Department of Labor. In the 2002-2003 school year and thereafter, any additional costs incurred by a school district due to the increase in the maximum amount of nonpublic school transportation costs per pupil pursuant to this section shall be borne by the State. L.1981, c.57, s.2; amended 1990, c.52, s.51; 1992, c.33, s.2; 1996, c.138, s.66; 2001, c.437, s.1; 2007, c.260, s.62. 18A:39-1b. Furnishing of district information 3. Each school district shall furnish to the Department of Education the information necessary for the department to complete a comparison of transportation costs, so that equitable adjustments may be made in the amount of the payments in lieu of transportation required pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1. L.1992,c.33,s.3. 18A:39-1c Waiver for pupil transportation services under certain circumstances. 1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.18A:39-1 or any other section of law to the contrary, a school district shall not be required to provide transportation services for the school year to an elementary school pupil who lives more than two miles from his public school of attendance or to a secondary school pupil who lives more than 2 1/2 miles from his public school of attendance if the pupil's parent or guardian signs a written statement that the pupil waives transportation services for that school year. The written statement shall be in such form as determined by the Department of Education. b. In the event that a parent or guardian signs a waiver pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the school district shall develop a policy for the provision of transportation services to the pupil in the case of a family or economic hardship. L.2011, c.132, s.1. 18A:39-1d Definitions relative to nonpublic school pupil transportation pilot program. 1. a. As used in this section: "Consortium" means a group of nonpublic schools which enroll pupils for whom an eligible district is required to provide transportation pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1 and which enter into an agreement to form a consortium for the purpose of participating in the pilot program established pursuant to this section. "Eligible district" means a school district which in the most recent school year prior to the effective date of P.L.2016, c.22 (C.18A:39-1d), supplied transportation to more than 5,000 pupils residing in the school district in going to and from any remote school other than a public school pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.18A:39-1. b. The Commissioner of Education shall establish a three-year nonpublic school pupil transportation pilot program. Notwithstanding any section of law to the contrary, under the pilot program, a board of education of an eligible district shall disburse to the consortium an amount equal to the aid in-lieu-of transportation amount for each nonpublic school pupil who is attending a nonpublic school which is a part of the consortium and who is required to be transported by the eligible district pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1. The consortium shall assume the responsibilities of the eligible district under N.J.S.18A:39-1 for transporting to and from school the pupils for whom the consortium received an aid in-lieu-of transportation amount under the pilot program. If the per pupil cost of the lowest bid received exceeds the aid in-lieu-of transportation amount, then the parent or guardian of the student shall be eligible to receive the aid in-lieu-of transportation amount from the consortium for that school year. If after providing the required pupil transportation any of the disbursed funds remain unspent, the consortium, as it deems appropriate, may provide courtesy busing to pupils who are residents of the eligible district and are attending the nonpublic schools of the consortium. The consortium shall refund annually to the school district after the completion of the school year any unexpended funds received pursuant to the pilot program. c. The commissioner shall designate one eligible district to participate in the pilot program. In order to participate in the pilot program, the eligible district shall: (1) provide to the commissioner the necessary assurances that the consortium is capable of complying with the consortium's pupil transportation responsibilities under the pilot program; and (2) agree as a condition of participation in the pilot program to not provide any courtesy busing to nonpublic school pupils who reside in the eligible district. d. The State monitor appointed pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2006, c.15 (C.18A:7A-55) shall annually enter into a contract with an independent entity to audit the implementation of the pilot program. The audit for the prior school year shall be submitted to the State monitor no later than December 1 of each year, and the State monitor shall transmit a copy of the audit to the Commissioner of Education. If a State monitor has not been appointed, then the board of education shall be responsible for carrying out the provisions of this subsection. e. There shall be established an oversight committee to oversee the operations of the consortium in implementing the pilot program. The oversight committee shall consist of five members including: one member appointed by the State monitor if a State monitor has been appointed, or by the board of education if a State monitor has not been appointed; and four members appointed by the commissioner, one of whom shall represent a nonpublic school which is part of the consortium. f. Two years following the establishment of the pilot program, the commissioner shall submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1). The report shall contain information on the implementation of the pilot program and shall include the commissioner's recommendation on the advisability of continuing the program and expanding the program Statewide. g. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of this act in a manner that comports with the provisions of the State and federal Constitutions. The rules shall include, but need not be limited to, the process and schedule for the disbursement of funds by the eligible district to the consortium. L.2016, c.22, s.1.

This is the verbatim text of N.J.S.A. 18A:39-1, retrieved from the New Jersey Legislature's public statute corpus. Statutes are amended periodically — for the most current version, check the external source link above. Kyzer is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.