SENATE, No. 716

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator  DAWN MARIE ADDIEGO

District 8 (Atlantic, Burlington and Camden)

Senator  STEPHEN M. SWEENEY

District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Singleton

SYNOPSIS

     Permits school district of residence to provide aid in-lieu-of transportation to pupil attending Marine Academy of Science and Technology provided certain conditions are met.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning transportation to the Marine Academy of Science and Technology and amending P.L.1983, c.341.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.    Section 6 of P.L.1983, c.341 (C.18A:54C-7) is amended to read as follows:

     6.    Transportation for pupils attending the Marine Academy of Science and Technology shall be provided by the district in which the pupil resides; except that in the case of a pupil whose school district of residence in not located in the county in which the academy is located and the pupil resides more than 40 miles from the academy, then the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of the pupil shall be eligible to receive the amount determined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a).

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, pupils enrolled in and attending the regular full-time program at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology on the effective date of P.L.    , c.     (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall receive transportation until graduation from the academy in accordance with the provisions of this section as the same read prior to the effective date of P.L.    , c.     (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

(cf: P.L.1983, c.341, s.6)

     2.    This act shall take effect on July 1 of the first full school year following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

     This bill revises the requirements for providing pupil transportation to students attending the Marine Academy of Science and Technology which is a county vocational school located in Monmouth County.  Currently, the school district in which a student resides is required to provide transportation if a student resides more than two and one-half miles from his county vocational school of attendance, regardless of the distance to the county vocational school or the cost of the transportation.  This bill would continue to require resident school districts to provide transportation to all of their pupils attending the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, except in the case of students who reside outside of Monmouth County and more than 40 miles from

the academy.  In this case the student’s parent or guardian would be eligible to receive the aid-in-lieu-of transportation amount, which in the 2018-2019 school year is $1,000.  The bill also includes a grandfather provision for these students residing outside the county and more than 40 miles from the academy, if they are enrolled in and attending the regular full-time program at the academy on the bill’s effective date.  Under the grandfather provision, these students will continue to receive transportation from the resident school district until graduation from the academy.