N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8 § 156.12

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 156.12 - Transportation contracts awarded through a request for proposals

(a) Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision 14 of section 305 of the Education Law, all contracts for the transportation of pupils which are subject to the competitive bidding requirements of General Municipal Law shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder or through an evaluation of proposals submitted in response to a request for proposals by a board of education.

(b) When a board of education elects to award a contract through an evaluation of proposals in response to a request for proposals, such board of education shall evaluate each proposal from a responding contractor in accordance with the following criteria:

(1) the previous experience of the contractor in transporting pupils;

(2) the name of each transportation company of which the contractor has been an owner or manager;

(3) a description of any safety programs implemented by the contractor;

(4) a record of accidents in motor vehicles under the control of the contractor;

(5) the driving history of employees of the contractor;

(6) inspection records and model year of each of the motor vehicles under the control of the contractor;

(7) maintenance schedules of the motor vehicles under the control of the contractor;

(8) a financial analysis of the contractor;

(9) documentation of compliance with motor vehicle insurance requirements; and

(10) total cost of the proposal.

(c) Any public notice soliciting proposals for transportation services, as well as any instructions provided to potential respondents to a request for proposals pursuant to this section, shall specify all of the criteria to be used in evaluating such proposals and shall specify the weightings that the board of education has assigned to each criterion for the purpose of evaluating proposals submitted in response to the request for proposals. For this purpose, no single criterion shall be weighted in excess of 50 percent of the total weight of all of the criteria to be used. In addition, the board of education shall establish a minimum score threshold which shall be required to accept proposals.

(d) Each district awarding a contract through an evaluation of proposals shall submit such contract to the commissioner for approval pursuant to the provisions of Education Law, sections 305(14) and 3625, together with satisfactory evidence of the date of the request for such proposals, the forms and instructions used in making such request, the contract specifications, all proposals received, the criteria used in evaluating the proposals, the weights assigned to each criterion, the committee scores used to assess each category of the criteria, and such other information as the commissioner deems necessary for such approval.

(e) Proposals for contracts for anticipated transportation needs for the following school year shall be requested no later than June 1st, except that proposals for contracts for transportation of children with disabilities shall be requested no later than July 1st of the school year for which such contracts are to be awarded.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (e) of this section, in the case of an emergency or other unforeseen occurrence or condition affecting transportation services, and requiring immediate action which cannot await responses to a request for proposals, interim contracts may be awarded for a period not to exceed one month, pending the award of a contract for such services in accordance with the provisions of subdivisions (a) through (d) of this section.

(g) Proposals for contracts which cannot be anticipated in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (e) of this section, because of an emergency or other unforeseen occurrence or condition affecting transportation services, shall be requested at least 30 days prior to the beginning date of service.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 8 § 156.12

Amended New York State Register July 29, 2020/Volume XLII, Issue 30, eff. 7/14/2020