Comments from the ATTORNEY,
The cutoff for transportation to be provided by a school district to a child with a disability entitled to receive special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) in New York is 50 miles.
But what if this child with a disability is placed in a private school by his parents? Must the school district still provide transportation for that child to and from his school?
Yes.
The New York Education Law § 4402 (4)(d) states: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, such board [of education] shall provide suitable transportation up to a distance of fifty miles to and from a nonpublic school which a child with a handicapping condition attends if such child has been so identified by the local committee on special education and such child attends such school for the purpose of receiving services or programs similar to special educational programs recommended for such child by the local committee on special education."
There are only two pre-conditions: That the child has a handicapping condition identified by the local CSE (a child with an IEP) and that the child is attending the private school for the purpose of receiving services or programs similar to special educational programs recommended for the child by the local committee on special education.
