3636 - Passage of school buses across railroad crossings.

§ 3636. Passage  of  school  buses  across  railroad  crossings. 1. No  school bus transporting  pupils  between  home  and  school  or  between  schools  which such pupils regularly attend either within or outside the  district which operates or contracts for the operation of such  bus,  or  transporting  pupils  for  any purpose within such district, shall cross  railroad tracks at grade except at a guarded railroad  crossing,  unless  the  governing  body  of  the  school district which operates the bus or  contracts for the operation of the bus shall have adopted, at a  regular  meeting  after  a public hearing thereon, a resolution by which it shall  have determined that the use of a route which would avoid  an  unguarded  railroad crossing by the school bus would be impracticable.    A  copy  of  any resolution adopted pursuant to the provisions of this  section shall  be  filed  with  the  department  of  education  and  the  department  of transportation at their respective offices in the city of  Albany.    2. For the purpose of this section, a guarded railroad crossing  shall  be defined as follows:    a.  Any railroad crossing having automatic electrically operated gates  that meet the specifications for such gates in the rules and regulations  promulgated by the department of transporation.    b. Any railroad crossing where a member  of  the  approaching  train's  crew disembarks from the train which has stopped before the crossing and  positions  himself  at  the  crossing  to  halt  traffic while the train  passes. Such  procedure  must  be  in  accordance  with  the  rules  and  regulations promulgated by the department of transportation.    c.  Any  railroad  crossing  protected  by an automatic warning signal  which  meets  the  specifications  in  the  rules  and  regulations   as  promulgated by the department of transportation.    d. Any railroad crossing protected by one or more persons serving as a  railroad crossing guard.    3.  Each  school  district shall prepare and maintain a map indicating  the intersection with any unguarded railroad crossing of each route used  by a school bus transporting students to and from school  either  within  or  outside  the  district,  or for any purpose within the district, and  shall make such map available for inspection  by  any  resident  of  the  district at a place designated by the governing body of the district.    4.   The  commissioner  of  education  shall  have  the  authority  to  promulgate such regulations as he shall deem  appropriate  to  implement  the provisions of this section.