NY FASST Launches Statewide Coalition to Modernize Student Transportation for New York's Most Vulnerable Children

New statewide coalition calls on Albany to pass S.9289/A.10401 and close the transportation gap leaving students experiencing homelessness, foster care, and IEP placements without a reliable ride to school

ALBANY, N.Y., June 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NY FASST — NY Friends of Affordable, Safe Student Transportation — today announced its formal launch as a statewide coalition advocating for a modernized student transportation framework in New York State. The coalition brings together parents, educators, nonprofits, disability advocates, small businesses, and taxpayers united by a single conviction: New York's most vulnerable students deserve a safe, reliable way to get to school, and the status quo is no longer sufficient to meet their needs.

New York is facing a well-documented and ongoing school bus driver shortage. The students hit hardest are also the most vulnerable — special needs students with individualized education programs (otherwise known as IEPs), 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.

NY FASST is calling on the New York State Legislature and Governor to pass Senator Cooney's S.9289 and Assembly member Hunter's A.10401 legislation that would create a clear statutory definition for school transportation logistics vehicles (STLVs) and their coordinators — bringing vetted community drivers in small-capacity vehicles into the Article 19-A framework with every safety obligation intact. The bill would also remove an unnecessary CDL requirement for drivers of single-pupil passenger vehicles that federal law does not impose, a direct contributor to New York's driver shortage.

Forty-one states including Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, Colorado, and Minnesota have already built frameworks that allow vetted alternative transportation providers to serve these students safely and efficiently. New York has not.

"Every child in New York deserves a safe, reliable way to get to school — and right now, too many of our most vulnerable students simply don't have one. NY FASST exists because we believe that is unacceptable, and that Albany has both the power and the responsibility to change it," Richard Cowans, owner of Irie Transportation Associated LLC.

NY FASST's three-pillar platform — Affordability, Flexibility, and Safety — reflects the coalition's core argument that these are not competing values but mutually achievable goals. Alternative transportation for specialized routes reduces per-trip costs, with savings directed back to classrooms. Vetted drivers in smaller vehicles can respond to changing pickup addresses, IEP routes, and out-of-district placements that traditional buses cannot serve. And proposed safety standards are rigorous: multi-layer background checks, continuous motor vehicle record (MVR) monitoring, real-time GPS tracking on every trip, and daily electronic vehicle inspection logs — meeting or exceeding current Article 19-A standards.

The coalition's founding members include representatives from the Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, The Salvation Army (Syracuse Area), Liverpool Central School District, Samaritan Center, Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse, Syracuse City School District, and Academy of Health Sciences Charter School, among others.

"As a school district, our first obligation is always to the safety of our students — and that obligation covers every mile of their journey to and from school. S.9289/A.10401 does not ask us to compromise on safety; it gives us the legal framework to extend the same rigorous standards we hold our bus operators to, to every driver serving our students," Tamica Barnett, Syracuse School Board of Education President

The proposed legislation, S.9289 (Cooney) / A.10401 (Hunter), also authorizes piggyback contracting so school boards can enter into contracts with private single-pupil transportation providers already contracted by neighboring districts, and enables Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and cooperative purchasing arrangements so districts can access alternative transportation at lower cost through shared-services frameworks.

NY FASST welcomes parents, educators, school administrators, community organizations, small businesses, and advocacy groups who share its commitment to safe, affordable, flexible student transportation.

To join the coalition, urge your state legislators to support S.9289 (Cooney) / A.10401 (Hunter), or to learn more about NY FASST's work, visit nyfasst.org.

About NY FASST

NY FASST — NY Friends of Affordable, Safe Student Transportation — is a statewide coalition of parents, educators, nonprofits, disability advocates, small businesses, and taxpayers advocating for a modernized student transportation framework in New York State. NY FASST supports legislation that gives school districts the tools, flexibility, and resources to get every child safely to school. For more information, visit nyfasst.org or contact [email protected].

Contact:

NY FASST Communications

[email protected]

nyfasst.org

Media Contact

Christine Rashman, NY FASST, 1 2814335067, [email protected], www.nyfasst.org

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SOURCE NY FASST