Guidance on Funding and Reporting for Transportation of UPK Students
With the July 2012 signing of Chapter 244 Laws of 2012, there are now three possible fiscal and reporting situations associated with the transportation of students enrolled in Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) programs as defined in NYSEL 3602-e and 8CRRNY 151-1.
It is possible to transport UPK students under a combination of these three fiscal situations. In fact, in some instances, reporting may be different for UPK students riding the same bus. The information below explains the reporting requirements for each situation so as to ensure the district receives the correct amount of Transportation Aid and is in compliance with statute.
A. District transports students to UPK programs and the expense for that transportation is funded completely with UPK grant money (NYSEL 3602-e).
Reporting requirements:
- Report the expense for this transportation in the appropriate area of the Special aid Fund on the ST-3 Annual Financial Report
- Do not include the expense for this transportation on the ST-3 in the General Fund
- Do not report any information about this transport on any State Aid claim form.
- Non-allowable pupil decimal (NAPD): Do not report these students at all on the Form FT non-allowable pupil decimal worksheet, because including them as either allowable or nonallowable will impact your regular Transportation Aid
B. District transports one or more UPK students on buses together with non-UPK students but the UPK students do not generate any additional transportation cost (3602 7.d)1). This means that the route the bus takes is exactly the same route it would take if there were no UPK students on the bus. Transport of UPK students under these circumstances is completely cost and aid neutral.
Reporting requirements:
- There is no expense associated with the UPK students so there is no impact on ST-3 reporting of transportation expenses, or on any other SAMS Transportation forms/schedules
- NAPD: Do not report these students at all on the Form FT non-allowable pupil decimal worksheet, because including them as either allowable or nonallowable will impact your Transportation Aid.
C. District transports UPK students and the UPK students do generate additional transportation cost that is not funded out of UPK Grant funds. These UPK students may be transported a) on separate buses or b) on buses also transporting non-UPK students where one or more of the UPK students generates additional transportation cost (NYSEL 3635 (1) as amended by Chapter 244 of the laws of 20122). A UPK student on a bus with non-UPK students generates additional transportation cost if the route the bus takes to transport that student is not exactly the same route it would take if the UPK student were not on the bus.
Reporting requirements:
Report all additional expense associated with the transport of UPK students as you would normally report transportation expenses on the ST-3 and /or on various SAMS schedules; do not exclude any expenses. Please note this applies ONLY to UPK students who generate additional transportation costs
NAPD: All UPK students transported on separate buses should be reported as non-allowable on the NAPD worksheet; they are included in reported transportation expense and will generate Transportation Aid if not included as non-allowable in the calculation of the non-allowable pupil decimal.
This includes UPK students who may ride a morning or afternoon route that does not generate additional cost but will also be on a mid day route that will generate additional cost. An example of this situation is a UPK student who rides a morning bus with full day kindergarten students and the UPK student does not generate additional costs for this AM run.
However, this UPK student does require a separate mid day bus route to return home from the half day UPK program. This student should NOT be reported at all on the NAPD worksheet for the morning run but should be reported as non allowable on the NAPD worksheet for the mid day run.
NAPD: UPK students riding with non-UPK students and generating additional expense should be reported as non-allowable on the NAPD worksheet: They are included in reported transportation expense and will generate Transportation Aid if not included as non-allowable in the calculation of the non-allowable pupil decimal.
NAPD: If district begins to transport UPK students that generate additional transportation expense not funded by the UPK grant, these non-allowable UPK students should be counted in the spring of the year in which they are first transported. A new NAPD worksheet should be submitted in the SAMS claim year following the year in which they were first transported, even if it is less than three years since an NAPD worksheet was filed pursuant to Section 156.7 of the Commissioner’s Regulations.
1 NYSEL 3602 7d. In determining approved transportation operating expense for district-owned transportation and approved transportation capital, debt service and lease expense pursuant to paragraphs b, c and e of this subdivision and part two of this article, the commissioner shall make a deduction from the total transportation expense for the transportation of non-allowable pupils, and for that portion of the total annual mileage of district-owned school buses that is not aidable because it is not included in the total annual allowable mileage as defined in section thirty-six hundred twenty-one of this article, provided that such calculations shall be made pursuant to regulations of the commissioner, and further provided that such regulations shall provide for an exclusion of pupil miles for transportation provided on a space-available basis to pupils attending an approved universal prekindergarten program pursuant to section thirty-six hundred two-e of this article that does not result in additional transportation costs.
- 2 Chapter 244 Laws of 2012
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 3635 of the education law is
2 amended by adding a new paragraph g to read as follows:
3 g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
4 trustees or board of education of any school district may, in its
5 discretion, provide transportation for students attending a universal
6 pre-kindergarten program in addition to transportation funded by such
7 program or transportation for students attending another district spon-
8 sored or district-run pre-kindergarten program, within mileage limits
9 established by the school district; if provided such transportation
10 shall be offered equally to all children in like circumstances residing
11 in the district. The cost of providing such transportation shall be a
12 charge upon the district and for purposes of subdivision seven of
13 section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter, such pupils shall be
14 considered non allowable pupils and the costs of their transportation
15 shall not be aidable.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Webpage Reviewed by SLS, March, 2024