ASSEMBLY, No. 526

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Assemblywoman CRECCO

 

 

An Act providing for transportation to and from school for certain school children when hazardous walking conditions exist and supplementing chapter 39 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

 

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

 

    1. Each board of education that provides for the transportation of pupils to and from school shall provide for the transportation of pupils who do not live remote from school as defined pursuant to N.J.S.18A:58-7 whenever it is determined pursuant to this act that highway, road or traffic conditions exist which constitute a significant hazard to the safety of those pupils.

 

    2. a. There is established in the Department of Education a School Pedestrian Safety Board. The board shall consist of the Commissioners of Education and Transportation or their respective designees, and five public members to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The public members shall be knowledgeable of and experienced in matters of highway safety engineering. The term of office of the appointed members shall be for three years. The terms of the initial appointed members shall be fixed by the Governor so that one shall serve for a one year term, two shall serve for a two year term and two shall serve for a three year term. Each member shall serve until his successor is appointed and qualified. Any vacancy in the board shall be filled by the Governor in the same manner as the original appointment and for the unexpired term only. The board shall annually elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among the public members and may appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the board.

    Members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for their actual expenditures necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.

    b. Within six months of the effective date of this act, the School Pedestrian Safety Board, in consultation with the advisory council established by section 7 of this act, shall develop criteria for the determination of hazardous walking conditions for school pupils. These criteria shall include, but need not be limited to: the age and grade of pupils; the location of the walkway; the speed and volume of traffic; the length of the hazardous section; and such other factors as the board deems necessary and appropriate.

    c. Within three months of the development of the criteria for the determination of hazardous walking conditions for school pupils, the board shall prepare and issue guidelines and procedures for use by local boards of education to determine the existence of hazardous walking conditions within the school district. These procedures shall, at a minimum, require local boards of education to (1) develop walking route plans and (2) make a good faith effort to reach an agreement with the governmental agency responsible for the roadway for the alleviation of the hazardous conditions.

 

    3. Whenever a local board of education determines that hazardous walking conditions exist within the district based upon the criteria established by the School Pedestrian Safety Board, the board of education shall submit documentation of that hazard to the School Pedestrian Safety Board, which shall, at a minimum, include:

    a. Established district walking route plans, which shall be based upon considerations of traffic patterns, existing traffic controls and crossing protection aids including school crossing guards, and which shall demonstrate a good faith effort to develop walking routes which avoid the hazardous conditions.

    b. Documentation of the school board's efforts to work with the governmental agency responsible for the roadway in order to modify or alleviate the hazardous conditions.

    c. The number of pupils for whom transportation will be provided because of the hazardous condition.

 

    4. Upon receipt of documentation from a local board of education of a hazardous walking condition, the School Pedestrian Safety Board shall review the documentation to determine whether the criteria, guidelines and procedures established by the board have been followed. Upon an affirmative determination, the board shall notify the Commissioner of Education that a hazardous route exists within the school district.

 

    5. a. If it is determined pursuant to this act that a route is hazardous, school districts which provide transportation to and from school along that route for pupils who are not otherwise eligible for State transportation aid pursuant to N.J.S.18A:58-7, shall be reimbursed by the State for 90% of the cost of providing that transportation.

    b. Each board of education which receives State transportation aid pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall submit an annual report to the board on the status of the hazardous route. If the board determines that the hazardous conditions which caused the route to be classified as significantly hazardous have been corrected, the board shall notify the Commissioner of Education that the route is no longer hazardous. The Commissioner of Education shall inform the local school district that, effective as of July 1 next ensuing, the local school district shall no longer be eligible to receive State transportation aid pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

 

    6. a. Upon the determination, pursuant to P.L........, c..... (C.......) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill) that a route constitutes a significant hazard to the safety of school pupils, the School Pedestrian Safety Board shall immediately advise the governmental unit having jurisdictional responsibility for the public highway. If the public highway is under both State and local authority, the State shall be the responsible unit. If the public highway is under both county and municipal authority, the county shall be the responsible unit. That notification shall include the analysis of the conditions which caused the route to be classified as significantly hazardous.

    b. Upon receipt of notification, the governmental unit responsible for the maintenance of the public highway shall review the recommendations and shall submit for approval a plan for the correction of the hazardous conditions to the School Pedestrian Safety Board.

    c. The board shall review the plan submitted pursuant to subsection b. of this section, taking into consideration:

    (1) The relationship of the project to the State master plan and, if appropriate, approved local comprehensive plans for transportation projects.

    (2) An analysis of the costs for correction of the hazard in relation to the costs of continuing to provide State school transportation aid.

    (3) Any other factors which the board deems appropriate.

    Following that review, the board shall either (1) approve the plan as submitted, (2) approve the plan with modifications, or (3) disapprove the plan. If the board modifies or disapproves the submitted plan, the governmental unit shall promptly resubmit the plan to the board to comply with modifications or recommendations as directed.

    d. If the commissioner approves a plan for the correction of a condition which poses a significant hazard to school pupils that plan shall be implemented as follows:

    (1) If the State is responsible for the public highway, it shall be the responsibility of the Department of Transportation to correct the hazard as a priority.

    (2) If a local governmental unit is responsible for the maintenance of the public highway, it shall be the responsbility of the local governmental unit to correct the hazard. A plan for the correction of a hazardous walking conditions for school pupils shall be designated a priority by the local governmental unit for the purposes of State aid funding pursuant to section 25 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-25).

 

    7. In order to assist the board in the administration and implementation of the hazardous routes program, there is established the School Pedestrian Safety Advisory Council. The members of the council shall be appointed by the board, and shall include representatives of the educational community, parents, law enforcement officials, and such other individuals as the board deems appropriate.

    The council shall meet on a periodic basis, but not less than once each year, to discuss the development and implementation of the program and to recommend to the board any changes which it deems necessary to improve the operations of the program.

 

    8. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill provides for the transportation of pupils to and from school along routes which are hazardous for walking. The bill establishes a School Pedestrian Safety Board in the Department of Education, consisting of the Commissioners of Education and Transportation and five public members knowledgeable in highway safety engineering. The board will be responsible for developing criteria for the determination of hazardous walking conditions and for establishing guidelines and procedures for use by local boards of education. The bill also establishes an advisory council to assist the board in making its determinations.

    If a board determines that a route is hazardous, it must submit documentation to the School Pedestrian Safety Board that it has established walking routes for the district that attempt to avoid the hazard and that it has made a good faith effort to work with the governmental unit responsible for the roadway in order to modify or alleviate the hazardous conditions. If the School Pedestrian Safety Board determines that its guidelines, criteria and procedures have been followed, the board will notify the Commissioner of Education that a hazardous walking condition exists in the school district.

    Once a route is designated as hazardous, the school district would receive State aid for the transportation of pupils who must use the route equal to 90% of the cost of transportation. If the hazard was corrected, the State aid would no longer be paid to the district.

    The bill also requires the School Pedestrian Safety Board to advise the governmental unit responsible for the route of the designation and the reasons for determining that the route is hazardous. The governmental unit must then develop a plan for the correction of the hazard. If a local governmental unit is reponsible for the roadway, it would be responsible for the correction of the hazard, and the project would become a priority for the purposes of State funding under the "New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Act," P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-1 et seq.). If the public highway is under State jurisdiction, the State would be responsible for correcting the hazard on a priority basis.

 

 

 

Provides State aid for transportation of pupils to and from school along hazardous routes.