Res. No. 735
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.1018/A.8440, to amend the education law, in relation to contracts for the transportation of school children
By Council Members Won and Dinowitz
Whereas, The New York City (“NYC” or “City”) Department of Education (DOE) provides transportation to all eligible NYC students in public, charter and non-public schools, in accordance with Chancellor’s Regulation A-801; and
Whereas, DOE provides eligible students with Student OMNY cards for travel on public transit bus or subway, as well as school bus service under contract to the Board of Education (BOE), including stop-to-school service between designated bus stops and school, and curb-to-school service for students whose Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) recommend it; and
Whereas, Prior to 1979, BOE administered “Special Education” and “General Education” contracts with private bus companies for the transport of students with disabilities and other school-age children to and from their respective schools; and
Whereas, Contracts were awarded pursuant to the competitive bidding procedure under New York State (“NYS” or “State”) Education Law §305(14) and included a provision requiring “replacement” contractors to give hiring priority, according to seniority, to employees of private bus companies who lost their jobs as a result of the change in contractor; and
Whereas, In 1979, when BOE attempted to exclude this provision from certain bid solicitations, members of Local 1181-1061, Amalgamated Transit Union, AFL-CIO (“Local 1181”) went on strike for 13 weeks; and
Whereas, Following a court-ordered arbitration, BOE, Local 1181, and major bus companies entered into a settlement that required the 1979 contracts to include Employee Protection Provisions (EPPs); and
Whereas, EPPs determine who a contractor must hire and require it to safeguard those workers’ seniority, wages, and pension as well as their health and welfare benefits; and
Whereas, Specifically, the EPPs established a master seniority list, requiring contractors with BOE to prioritize hiring employees on the list when those employees became unemployed due to the reassignment of busing contracts; and
Whereas, Simultaneously, however, the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) administered transportation contracts for students in prekindergarten and early intervention programs through competitive, sealed bidding, without EPPs; and
Whereas, In 2006, DOT transferred its prekindergarten and early intervention contracts to DOE; and
Whereas, At Local 1181’s request, DOE included EPPs in its solicitations for bids on the prekindergarten and early intervention contracts, requiring new contractors to give hiring priority, by seniority, to workers on the master seniority list, with a similar provision for existing contractors; and
Whereas, The solicitation sought bids on a five-year contract, priced on a “per rider per day” basis and based on an estimate of the number of children and the frequency and level of transportation required, to transport children to schools not necessarily located in the same borough; and
Whereas, The solicitation also gave DOE a 2% discount for timely payment and gave vendors increased reimbursement only if ridership fell by more than 30%; and
Whereas, Twenty-three transportation vendors filed a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules challenging the solicitation, arguing that the “per rider per day” requirement would force speculative bids or deter bidding altogether, and that EPPs would result in bidders inflating their bids; and
Whereas, In 2008, the NYS Supreme Court declared several bid specifications unlawful, including the EPPs and provisions related to service requirements, price adjustments, liquidated damages, and prompt payment discounts; and
Whereas, In 2009, the Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the relevant parts of that ruling; and
Whereas, In 2011, the NYS Court of Appeals held that EPPs are subject to heightened scrutiny and invalidated them because DOE had not shown that they would save public money, encourage competition, or prevent favoritism, while upholding the remaining disputed bid specifications under rational basis review; and
Whereas, Following that decision, in 2012, DOE issued a Request for Bids for school-age (kindergarten through grade 12) bus contracts, without EPPs; and
Whereas, In response, in January 2013, Local 1181 and other unions went on strike; and
Whereas, Local 1181 suspended the strike in February 2013 without an agreement restoring EPPs, after five Democratic mayoral candidates pledged to revisit the school bus contracts if elected; and
Whereas, In 2012 and 2013, under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and then-DOE Chancellor Dennis Walcott, DOE solicited bids without EPPs, producing contracts that began in September 2013 and September 2014 and that, as of 2018, covered approximately 38% of school-age bus routes; and
Whereas, DOE subsequently halted all open solicitations without EPPs and unsuccessfully sought State legislation requiring their inclusion in bid solicitations for school-age bus contracts; and
Whereas, In December 2017, DOE issued a Request for Bids for new school-age bus contracts that included EPPs; in June 2018 the NYS Supreme Court enjoined that solicitation, and in December 2018, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the finding that DOE had not shown the EPPs would save public money, while declining to hold that EPPs could never be lawful; and
Whereas, EPPs remain in the City’s legacy school bus contracts, which DOE has repeatedly extended rather than rebid, because DOE has concluded that, following these decisions, it can preserve EPPs only by extending contracts; and
Whereas, According to news reports, school bus drivers and union officials consider EPPs essential and would likely strike if DOE rebid its school bus contracts without them; and
Whereas, Without State authority to include EPPs in new solicitations, DOE is effectively unable to rebid its school bus contracts and has limited leverage to negotiate improvement in services with its current vendors; and
Whereas, Students with disabilities make up approximately 43% of the City’s yellow school bus riders; and
Whereas, A December 2025 audit by the City Comptroller found that DOE does not adequately oversee its school bus vendors or hold them accountable for poor performance, and that students with IEPs were disproportionately affected by unreliable service, with curb-to-school routes averaging twice as many vendor-reported delays per route as stop-to-school routes in the 2023-24 school year; and
Whereas, The Comptroller recommended that DOE consider building minimum performance metrics and a tiered penalty structure into its new school bus contracts, which DOE has been unable to award with EPPs following the court decisions; and
Whereas, On November 19, 2025, the Panel for Educational Policy approved a three-year extension of the City’s yellow school bus contracts with 52 companies employing approximately 17,500 workers, after declining to support a proposed five-year extension; and
Whereas, The extended contracts expire at the end of the 2027-28 school year, and State legislation must be enacted during the 2027 legislative session to allow DOE sufficient time to issue new solicitations that include EPPs before the contracts expire; and
Whereas, S.1018/A.8440, sponsored by NYS Senator Robert Jackson and NYS Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia, respectively, would amend the State Education Law to “[protect] school bus workers’ wages and benefits during transitions between employers in [NYC as well as prioritize] the hiring of experienced school bus drivers to ensure high safety standards for students”; and
Whereas, The bill would ensure that experienced school bus drivers, mechanics, dispatchers, and attendants retain their jobs, wages, and benefits when contracts change hands, and that the City continues to benefit from their experience and expertise; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.1018/A.8440, to amend the education law, in relation to contracts for the transportation of school children.
LS #17952
11/06/2026
CGR