N.Y. EDN Law § 3635-A

§ 3635-a. Safety belt usage. 1. A board of education or board of\ntrustees may, in its discretion, following a public hearing for the\npurpose of determining whether a resolution shall be adopted, provide\nfor the use of seat safety belts on such school buses, in accordance\nwith regulations and standards established by the commissioner under\nsubdivision one of section thirty-six hundred thirty-eight of this\nchapter.\n 2. Such public hearing, conducted upon reasonable notice, shall be\nheld to consider: (a) whether the district shall install seat safety\nbelts on buses purchased and/or contracted for prior to the effective\ndate of this section and require their use; (b) when such installation\nshall be provided, and (c) whether use of seat safety belts shall be\nrequired on all school buses within the district so equipped after a\ndate to be determined by the board of education or board of trustees.\n 3. Such hearings shall consider the effect of seat safety belts\ninstallation on the total number of students that can be transported on\nsuch buses.\n 4. Within twenty days after the public hearing, the board of education\nor board of trustees shall, by resolution, determine whether to require\ninstallation and use of seat safety belts on some or all school buses.\n 5. This section shall apply only to vehicles owned or leased by school\ndistricts and nonpublic schools, and to vehicles used to perform\ncontracts with such school districts and nonpublic schools for the\npurpose of transporting school children for hire.\n 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose a duty upon\nboards of education or boards of trustees to provide seat safety belts\non school buses purchased or contracted for prior to the effective date\nof this section, nor shall any board of education or board of trustees\nbe held liable for failure to provide seat safety belts pursuant to this\nsection. A school board member or trustee shall have immunity from any\ncivil or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed\nas a result of the provisions of this section provided that such person\nshall have acted in good faith. For the purpose of any proceeding, civil\nor criminal, the good faith of any such person shall be presumed.\n 7. The provisions of this section shall not apply to school districts\nwhich are using safety belts on school buses or have installed or have\ncontracted for the installation of seat safety belts prior to the\neffective date of this section.\n