1. a. The Commissioner of Education shall identify and publish a list of local school boards of education, educational services commissions, county special services school districts, and any other established agencies providing cooperative transportation services.

b. Any school district responsible for the transportation of pupils to and from a school, other than a local district school, pursuant to N.J.S. 18A:39-1 which transports pupils to a county vocational school and pupils classified pursuant to chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes shall utilize one of the agencies identified by the commissioner for the transportation of the pupils. Transportation by one of the agencies shall not be required when the local district can provide transportation at a lower cost than those agencies, or the transportation to be provided by one of the agencies does not fall within the policies of the resident school district regarding length of ride and assignment of students to a route based on student age or classification.

c. (1) A board of education shall bid or coordinate nonpublic school transportation services with another school district or a cooperative transportation services agency in accordance with criteria established by the commissioner.

(2) Any school district which has in the prior year provided payments in lieu of transportation for any nonpublic school pupil pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1, or which cannot provide transportation in the ensuing school year in accordance with the commissioner’s criteria, shall attempt to provide transportation through an agency identified by the commissioner prior to determining to pay aid in lieu of transportation. The school district shall provide to the agency any unique limitations or restrictions of the required transportation. If the costs to provide transportation by the agency identified by the commissioner are less than the in-lieu-of payments, the agency shall provide transportation. The school district shall make the determination on the manner in which transportation services shall be provided and shall notify the nonpublic school and the parent or guardian of the nonpublic school pupil by August 1 prior to the beginning of the school year. For the purposes of this subsection, “costs to provide transportation” shall not include any administrative fee charged by the agency. If the sum of the costs to provide transportation plus any administrative fee charged by the agency exceeds on a per pupil basis the maximum amount for nonpublic school transportation established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C. 18A:39-1a), the board of education may apply to the commissioner for that portion which exceeds the maximum amount.

d. The county superintendents shall:

(1) assist local boards of education and the chief school administrators of nonpublic schools in coordinating the calendars and schedules of the public and nonpublic schools to facilitate the coordination of transportation of pupils to and from school in their respective county:

(2) arbitrate any disputes between local boards of education and the chief school administrators of nonpublic schools regarding pupil transportation; and

(3) convene a meeting, at least once a year, of representatives of all public and nonpublic schools in the county to discuss issues related to pupil transportation.

L.1997,c.53,s.1; amended 2001, c.65, s.2.