School Law Ch. 57, 57:28

57:28. May a school board designate pick-up points for school buses?

Yes. School districts are not required to provide transportation to students directly to and from home (§ 3635(1)(d); Ossant v. Millard, 72 Misc.2d 384 (Fam. Ct. Yates Cnty. 1972); Appeal of E.F., 57 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 17,186 (2017); see Appeal of Petrella, 48 Ed Dept Rep 45 (2008); see 57:19). They may require students to walk to transportation pick-up points (Appeal of E.F.; Appeal of Cook, 51 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 16,367 (2012); Appeal of Fliss, 51 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 16,280 (2011); Appeal of Girsdansky, 46 Ed Dept Rep 105 (2006)). A school board is authorized to exercise discretion with reasonable care in designating pick-up points after considering and balancing issues of student safety, convenience, routing efficiency, and cost (Appeal of E.F.; Appeal of Kyle, 53 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 16,626 (2014); Appeal of Cook; Appeal of K.G., 51 Ed Dept Rep, Dec. No. 16,269 (2011)).

To afford the greatest possible protection to school children, the school board or superintendent may designate drive-off places on public highways for school buses to drive off the highway to receive or discharge students. The state or municipality having jurisdiction over a highway so designated is authorized to provide construction and maintenance of drive-offs (§ 3635(5)). However, the fact that a pick-up point is located on a heavily traveled road or may require students to wait or travel on unlit narrow roadways with no sidewalks or walkways, or that the student’s home is in a remote location, is insufficient to prove that the pick-up point is unsafe (Appeal of K.G.; Appeal of Weinschenk, 47 Ed Dept Rep 518 (2008); Appeal of Price, 38 Ed Dept Rep 745 (1999); Appeal of DiNapoli, 38 Ed Dept Rep 269 (1998)).

It is the responsibility of the parent, not the school district, to see that his or her child reaches the pick-up point safely (Pratt v. Robinson, 39 N.Y.2d 554 (1976); Appeal of E.F.; Appeal of Kyle; Appeal of K.G.; Appeal of Brizell, 48 Ed Dept Rep 128 (2008)). However, a district may not require parents to transport their child to a pick-up point, which is farther away than the distance limitations for pick-up points set by the district policy (Appeal of Zwickel, 42 Ed Dept Rep 346 (2003)).