Chapter
229
2007 -- H 6279
Enacted 07/03/07
A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION
-- TRANSPORTATION
Introduced By: Representatives Mumford, Loughlin, Ehrhardt, and Savage
Date Introduced: April 11,
2007
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 16-21.1-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-21.1 entitled
"Transportation
of School Pupils Beyond City and Town Limits" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
16-21.1-7.
Statewide transportation of students with special needs. --
Notwithstanding
the
regional structure created in this chapter, and pursuant to the obligation of
school committees
to
transport children with special needs to and from school either within the
school district or in
another
school district of the state created by section 16-24-4, the department of
elementary and
secondary
education, in collaboration with the office of statewide planning of the
department of
administration,
and the Rhode Island public transit authority shall develop a plan for the
creation
and
implementation of a statewide system of transportation of students with special
needs to and
from
school. The statewide school transportation system for children with special
needs shall be
provided
through a competitive request for proposals to which vendors of transportation
services
may
respond. Effective upon the implementation of this statewide system of
transportation for
students
with special needs, each school committee may purchase the transportation
services for
their
own resident students with special needs by accessing this integrated statewide
system of
transportation
for children with special needs on a fee-for-service basis for each child. The
goals
of the
statewide system of transportation for students with special needs shall be the
reduction of
duplication
of cost and routes in transporting children from the various cities and towns
to the
same
special education program providers using different buses from each city and
town, the
improvement
of services to children through the development of shorter ride times and more
efficient
routes of travel, and the reduction of cost to local school committees through
achieving
efficiency
in eliminating the need for each school district to contract for and provide
these
specialized
transportation services separately. The department of elementary and
secondary
education
shall submit a report of their findings and plans to the general assembly by
March 30,
2008.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02852
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