Posted: | December 3, 2012 10:08 AM |
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From: | Senator Kim L. Ward |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Memo #2 - Education Mandate Waiver for Transportation |
In the near future, I plan to reintroduce Senate Bill 1507, which amends the Public School Code by establishing a Mandate Waiver in the Department of Education (“PDE”) for transportation. The bill allows school districts to apply for a waiver related to the transportation requirements for pupils attending elementary or secondary schools. A school district in my area has asked for this mandate relief, since their average student ridership is only 35% of bus capacity. The majority of secondary students drive to school and many times only a handful of students are riding a bus that costs approximately $48,000 per school year. This will provide the district with the ability to have parental sign-off that their child will not be utilizing the bus for the school year and thereby the district can significantly reduce their transportation costs and save taxpayers real dollars. In order for school entities to be eligible for this waiver, they must apply to PDE with information detailing that the waiver will allow them to operate in a more efficient, effective or economical manner. Previous co-sponsors of SB 1507 were Senators: SCARNATI, BAKER, ALLOWAY, ARGALL, KASUNIC, LEACH, MENSCH, YUDICHAK, WASHINGTON and BRUBAKER. If you have any questions regarding this legislation, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 717-787-6063. |
Introduced as SB60