NY FASST

Affordability

New York school districts are under enormous budget pressure — and facing an acute, well-documented shortage of school bus drivers. Alternative transportation models can reduce the cost of serving students with specialized needs compared to traditional bus service, redirecting savings back to classrooms where they belong.

Safety

Safety is non-negotiable. NY FASST supports rigorous driver screening, continuous monitoring, real-time GPS tracking, and accountability standards that meet or exceed current requirements — right-sized to the vehicle and student population being served.

Flexibility

Today’s students don’t always fit a standard route. Students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, and students with IEPs often need individualized, responsive transportation that traditional yellow bus fleets simply cannot provide. NY FASST advocates for the regulatory clarity districts need to meet every student where they are.

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New York Is Putting Its Most Vulnerable Students At Risk

New York State is experiencing a well-documented and ongoing school bus driver shortage. The populations hit hardest are also the most vulnerable: students with disabilities, students in foster care, and students experiencing homelessness — for whom a missed ride is not an inconvenience but a barrier to their education and stability.

Forty-one other U.S. states already permit transporting these students through vetted, right-sized vehicles and appropriately screened drivers. New York, by contrast, still lacks a statutory definition for school transportation logistics vehicles and the contracted community drivers who operate them. The proposed legislation - S.9289/A.10401 - closes that gap.

Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, districts are required to provide transportation for students experiencing housing instability — students who may need to be picked up from a different address mid-year, mid-month, or even mid-week. Students with IEP-mandated out-of-district placements may travel 30, 50, or 80 miles each way. These are not scenarios where you can simply add one more seat on an existing bus.

The Solution Is Proven. New York Needs to Act.

Yellow school buses will always have an important role in transporting kids to school. But there are additional, safe, affordable options for our most vulnerable students — and S.9289/A.10401 creates the clear legal framework New York needs to use them. Vetted alternative transportation providers — operating under contract with school districts, with full background checks, continuous driver monitoring, GPS tracking, and daily vehicle inspections — already serve students safely in the majority of U.S. states. This proposed legislation brings New York into that framework without reducing a single safety requirement.

See What We’re Fighting For

Our Coalition

NY FASST is led by parents, educators, nonprofits, small businesses, and taxpayers who have seen firsthand what happens when the system fails vulnerable students. We are a coalition of people who believe every child deserves a safe, affordable, flexible path to school. An individual's participation in NY FASST does not necessarily represent his or her whole organization.