Transportation Contracts
Information from NYSED’s Pupil Transportation Unit (PTU)Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Additional Guidance for Contracted Bus Expense Reporting, Form Set FT Schedule J
Transportation contract forms are available at: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/schoolbus/BusinessOfficial/
Aid for Transportation Contract Expenditures:
Expenditures for contracted pupil transportation should be claimed on SAMS Schedule J and in the ST-3 account codes A5540.4 and/or A5581.49.
Only expenditures up to the approved amount in the contract may be allowed for aid. Any excess expenditures must be deducted in computing transportation expenditures eligible for aid.
Pursuant to NYS Education Law Section 3625, every transportation contract must be filed with the Department within one hundred twenty days of the commencement of service under such contract, and no transportation expense is allowed for a period greater than one hundred twenty days prior to the filing of any contract for the transportation of pupils with the Education Department. Additionally, Department policy stipulates that transportation contracts must be properly executed before service begins, and no transportation expense is allowed for the period prior to the execution of the contract. If contracts contain a provision for the district to provide fuel, this amount is also subject to the late file/late execution statue.
Section 3622-a(6) of the Education Law authorizes the aid for transportation of pupils to and from approved summer school programs operated by a school district in the 2000-01 school year and thereafter. However, the statewide apportionment may not exceed five million dollars..
A school district that uses a computerized bus routing service to establish the routes for a private contractor may include the costs of the computerization in determining aid eligible expenditures, however, prior approval is required from NYSED’s Pupil Transportation Unit (PTU) for expenses over $10,000. Computerized bus routing expenditures for a private contractor must be coded in A5540.4 and/or A5581.49 of the ST-3 and claimed on Form FT line(s) 125a and/or 125b.
Parents as Contractors:
Please visit NYSED’s Pupil Transportation Unit website for information regarding contracted transportation by parents: https://www.p12.nysed.gov/schoolbus/contracts/html/contracted_transportation_by_parents.html/.
4408 (July/August Programs for Students with Disabilities) Transportation:
Expenditures for these programs should be recorded in the
Special Aid Fund of the ST-3, rather than the General Fund. Since districts
are reimbursed for these costs based on individual student claims submitted
to NYSED's STAC Unit, these expenses should not be included on the State Aid
claim forms. Please visit the STAC website for additional information regarding 4408 pupil transportation:
https://www.oms.nysed.gov/stac/schoolage/schoolage_placement_summary/summer_4408/
Webpage Reviewed by SRS, October, 2025