Medical Variance form: Parents should use this form to apply for a medical variance if their child requires transportation for a period of time because of serious medical reasons and the child is allowed by medical authority to attend classes if appropriate transportation is provided.  The form must be signed by the student's doctor and by the school's principal. Final approval can only be granted by the Department of Education physician.

Hazard Variance form: Parents and schools complete this form to request a variance due to unsafe conditions. Exceptions must be limited to those that result primarily from unsafe traffic, traffic control conditions, dangerous crossings, or areas impassable to pedestrians. Students are expected to walk along established streets and sidewalks, available to regular auto or pedestrian traffic, or satisfactory off-road paths in order to reach school. Some of the reasons for which variances from policy cannot be given include:

• Unsavory persons loitering in the area the child must traverse
• Unpaved roads or unpaved sidewalks
• School sessions that require the child to travel to school or return home in the dark

• Abandoned buildings lining the street leading to school
• Parks with through streets or sidewalks that the child must traverse
  
  

If OPT determines that the distance a child must travel to avoid a potentially hazardous condition, is greater than the distance the child must reside from school to be eligible for transportation, an exception may be granted.

Emergency Variance Form An emergency variance may be granted on a day-to-day basis when an emergency condition has been determined by OPT. Emergency conditions may include domestic violence situations, other threats to the student’s safety, structural damage to a school caused by fire or flooding, or no heat or electricity in the child’s school.

Whenever a student is placed in temporary housing or a domestic violence shelter, a request for emergency transportation can be placed immediately by filing an emergency variance form with OPT. Students in grades K-12 who have been placed in temporary housing (homeless shelters, hotels, etc.) by public authorities are exempt from the age and distance requirements as long as they reside in that temporary housing.

Access Variance Form In certain remote areas of New York City, where transportation may be unavailable, inadequate or inaccessible and where the student’s geographic distance from school makes it necessary, an access variance may be provided.

Change of After-School Drop for Special Education Students: Parents should use the Change of After-School Drop Form to request that their child be dropped off in the afternoon at a location other than their home address. Please read the instructions carefully, after school drop locations must be in the child’s home borough. This form is also available in: Arabic l Bengali l Chinese l Haitian Creole l Korean l Russian l Spanish l Urdu

Program Exception Application Principals should use this form to request special program MetroCards.
 

OPT 77 Form: Schools should use this form to request special education transportation for new admissions to nonpublic summer schools and to indicate a change of address for a special education student receiving summer school transportation.
 

Safety Drill Completion Form: Principals should use this form to document required school bus safety drills. School districts must conduct at least three school bus drills per school year; the first during the first week of the fall term, the second between November 1 and December 31, and the third between March 1 and April 30. On completion of the drills, Certificates of Compliance must be kept on file at the school.

Student Incident Report: This is a sample document and should not be printed. A copy of the report, with a specific control number, will be provided to schools by the bus driver or escort for entry into OORS