Senate Republicans, including Charles Fuschillo (8th Senate District - Merrick), who represents Farmingdale, Massapequa and other south shore communities, are making a major push for extra regulations to increase school bus safety.

Following the Senate's passage of a package of nine such bills, Fuschillo last Thursday joined Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos (9th Senate District - Rockville Centre), at a press conference at the State Supreme Court, Mineola to urge the Assembly to do the same.

Fuschillo authored two of the bills, while Skelos wrote one.

One piece of Fuschillo's legislation requires criminal background checks for all school bus attendants. Currently, this is required only for drivers. "School bus attendants have the same, if not more, contact with children and must be held accountable to the same standards as drivers," he said. "For the sake of protecting our children, New York needs this common-sense bill to become a law."

Senator Fuschillo's other bill requires that school bus drivers who transport disabled children have health care information about them readily available on the bus in case of an emergency. The information would include the students' names, phone numbers, addresses, parents, guardians or designees' names and phone numbers and any medical information, especially in regard to the children's disabilities.

"These fragile children are subject to emergencies that are related to their disabilities and this information will assist the driver when contacting emergency personnel," Fuschillo said. "Furthermore, if the driver and passengers are incapacitated from an accident, this vital information will enable rescuers to provide immediate and proper care." According to Fuschillo, there were 419 accidents involving school buses in New York State last year.

Skelos' legislation would require that school bus drivers thoroughly search the bus at the end of each route to check for students who may have been left behind, then place a "No One On Board" sign in the rear window prior to exiting. This legislation follows two recent incidents, both outside of Albany, in which two preschool students, both 4 years of age and one disabled, were inadvertently left on the bus. These are among eight such recorded incidents within five years, the senators noted.

The other school bus safety bills passed by the Senate include a crackdown on unsafe drivers, mandatory revocation of a school bus driver's license if he or she tests positive from a random drug or alcohol test, and bringing requirements of drivers of pre-K and nursery school students to the level of those of other school bus drivers.

At the media event, the senators were accompanied by parents who support the measure, as well as such sponsoring organizations as the Association for the Help of Retarded Children (AHRC).

Many told stories of students being endangered on buses, and the need for tougher safety measures.

"I think everybody's concerned when they put their child on a school bus," said Pam Froster, head of the Juvenile Protection Committee at Plaza Elementary School in Baldwin. "It seems kind of silly not to have safety assurances in effect when you're putting your child in the hands of a stranger."

Margaret Santorelli, parent of a 3-year-old who does not have the ability to speak, added, "The thought that you're leaving a preschooler on a bus without protection - that's absurd."

Mary Clark, a PTA representative, said she believes the organization has been a driving force behind political support for the proposed safety measures. "This is what PTA has been fighting for for years," she said.

Other proponents of the measures include the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, Education and Assistance Corporation, Long Island Head Injury Association, New York State School Boards Association, and the Nassau County and New York State Councils of School Superintendents.

In an interview after the press conference, Fuschillo said he believes Governor Pataki is willing to sign the bills and again urged the Assembly to pass the legislation. "These bills have been up for a few years...This is the second year that I've sponsored these bills," he said.