HOUSE BILL 290

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Mimi Stewart

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; ENABLING STUDENTS ENROLLED IN K-3 PLUS PROGRAMS TO RECEIVE SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 222, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-16-4. SCHOOL BUS ROUTES--LIMITATIONS--EXCEPTIONS--MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.--

          A. Bus routes shall be established by the local school district.

          B. Except as provided in Subsections C and D of this section, no school bus route shall be maintained for distances less than:

                (1) one mile one way for students in grades kindergarten through six;

                (2) one and one-half miles one way for students in grades seven through nine; and

                (3) two miles one way for students in grades ten through twelve.

          C. In school districts having hazardous walking conditions as determined by the local school board and confirmed by the state transportation director, students of any grade may be transported a lesser distance than that provided in Subsection B of this section. General standards for determining hazardous walking conditions shall be established by the state transportation division of the department [of education with the approval of the state board], but the standards shall be flexibly and not rigidly applied by the local school board and the state transportation director to prevent accidents and help ensure student safety.

          D. Exceptional children whose [handicaps] disabilities cause them to require transportation, and three- and four-year-old children who meet the [state board-approved] department-approved criteria and definition of developmentally disabled may be transported a lesser distance than that provided in Subsection B of this section.

          E.  K-3 plus programs approved by the department qualify as established programs for which a local school board or governing body of a state-chartered charter school may provide additional transportation services pursuant to Section 22-8-26 NMSA 1978."

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