Can a village school crossing guard direct traffic at an intersection that is several blocks from the school, and is the guard's authority limited to intersections that touch school property?

Plain-English summary

The Village Attorney for Alden asked whether a village school crossing guard could direct traffic at intersections several blocks from the school, including stopping traffic at intersections that already had a stop sign or traffic light to let school buses turn through. The AG concluded yes.

General Municipal Law § 208-a authorizes a village to appoint a school crossing guard "to aid in protecting school children going to and from school," and gives the guard "power to control vehicular traffic" within the village. The AG looked at the statute's history: when first enacted in 1956, the law limited the guard's authority to "an area of two city blocks, or two hundred yards from any entrance or exit" of a school. But the Legislature deleted that distance limit in 1957, recognizing that "in many instances, the points where vehicular control is really necessary for the protection of children going to and coming from school are located in areas that are more than two city blocks or two hundred yards from the entrance or exit of the school."

So the guard's authority is bounded only by (1) the village's geographic boundaries and (2) the statutory purpose of protecting school children going to or from school. Whether the guard's specific traffic order is reasonably designed to serve that purpose is a fact-bound question, citing People v. Jennings (1973).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What did the opinion conclude?

The AG was of the opinion that the Village's school crossing guard could direct traffic at intersections several blocks from the school, even if the intersection was already controlled by stop signs or traffic lights, as long as the purpose was to protect children going to and from school.

Why isn't there a distance limit?

There used to be one. The 1956 enactment of General Municipal Law § 208-a limited a school crossing guard's authority to a two-block or 200-yard radius from the school. The 1957 amendment deleted that limit because the Legislature recognized that traffic control was often most needed at locations farther from the school.

Are there any geographic limits?

Yes. The guard's authority extends only "within such municipality." General Municipal Law § 208-a. So a village school crossing guard cannot direct traffic outside the village.

Can the guard direct traffic for any reason?

No. The authority is limited to traffic control "to aid in protecting school children going to and from school." A guard who directs traffic for unrelated purposes (e.g., facilitating a private event, helping a non-school vehicle) would be exceeding statutory authority.

What about empty buses?

The opinion did not directly resolve whether the guard could stop traffic for a school bus that had no children on board (e.g., heading to the bus garage). The AG framed the test as whether the order is "reasonably designated" to protect children, citing People v. Jennings (1973), and made clear it depends on the facts at the time the order is given.

What is the purpose of the school crossing guard's authority being so broad?

The 1957 legislative history (reprinted in the Bill Jacket for ch. 784 (1957)) explained that traffic-control needs for school children safety often arise at points more than two blocks from school entrances. Removing the distance limit lets school districts and villages place guards where they are actually needed, not just where the original statute would have permitted.

Background and statutory framework

General Municipal Law § 208-a authorizes a village (and other municipalities under similar provisions) to appoint a school crossing guard "to aid in protecting school children going to and from school." The guard "shall have power to control vehicular traffic" within the municipality.

The statute originally included a distance limit when enacted by ch. 255, 1956 N.Y. Laws 948: a school crossing guard could control traffic "within an area of two city blocks, or two hundred yards from any entrance or exit" of a school. That limit was deleted by ch. 784, 1957 N.Y. Laws, with the Senate sponsor's explanation that "in many instances, the points where vehicular control is really necessary for the protection of children going to and coming from school are located in areas that are more than two city blocks or two hundred yards from the entrance or exit of the school." Letter from M. Mitchell, Senate Sponsor, to A. Harriman, Governor (April 9, 1957), in Bill Jacket for ch. 784 (1957), at 10.

The remaining limits are geographic (within the municipality) and purpose-bound (school children safety). The fact-bound reasonableness inquiry was set out in People v. Jennings, 75 Misc. 2d 408 (Vill. Millerton Just. Ct. 1973), which held that the guard's authority extends to traffic orders "reasonably designated" to protect children.

Citations

The controlling statute is General Municipal Law § 208-a. The legislative history of the 1957 amendment removing the distance limit is in the Bill Jacket for ch. 784 (1957). The reasonableness standard for specific traffic orders comes from People v. Jennings, 75 Misc. 2d 408 (Vill. Millerton Just. Ct. 1973).

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/2013-3_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

General Municipal Law § 208-a

A village school crossing guard may control traffic at an intersection within the village that does not abut school property, if exercise of such traffic control is to aid in protecting school children going to and from school.

June 17, 2013
Chris G. Trapp
Village Attorney
Village of Alden
13336 Broadway
Alden, New York 14004-1328

Informal Opinion
No. 2013-3

Dear Mr. Trapp:

You have asked about the authority of the Village's school crossing guard to control traffic at street intersections. You have explained that the crossing guard stops all traffic at two intersections, otherwise controlled in one instance by a stop sign and in the other by a traffic light, to allow buses to turn from one street to another. Sometimes the buses have children on them (on the way to or from school) and sometimes the buses are empty of children and are traveling to the bus garage.

General Municipal Law § 208-a authorizes the Village to appoint a school crossing guard "to aid in protecting school children going to and from school . . . and for such purpose he or she shall have power to control vehicular traffic" within the Village.

You are concerned that the school crossing guard exceeds her authority because the intersections at which she controls traffic are not next to the school, and one of them is several blocks away. But section 208-a contains no constraints on the distance from a school that a school guard's authority may be exercised. Indeed, at one time section 208-a did include such a limitation: when originally enacted, it provided that a school crossing guard could control traffic "within an area of two city blocks, or two hundred yards from any entrance or exit" of a school. Act of April 3, 1956, ch. 255, 1956 N.Y. Laws 948. But this language was deleted in 1957 in recognition of the fact that "[i]n many instances, the points where vehicular control is really necessary for the protection of children going to and coming from school are located in areas that are more than two city blocks or two hundred yards from the entrance or exit of the school." Letter from M. Mitchell, Senate Sponsor, to A. Harriman, Governor (April 9, 1957), reprinted in Bill Jacket for ch. 784 (1957), at 10. The Village's school guard thus may control traffic at an intersection that does not abut school property. The exercise of her authority of course is confined to the Village's boundaries. General Municipal Law § 208-a (crossing guard has power to control traffic "within such municipality").

Her authority also is constrained by the language of the statute by which it was granted: she has the power to control vehicular traffic "to aid in protecting school children going to and from school." She is permitted to exercise traffic control "reasonably designated" to achieve that purpose. People v. Jennings, 75 Misc. 2d 408, 409 (Vill. Millerton Just. Ct., 1973). Whether she reasonably gives a particular traffic order to serve that purpose depends on the facts at the time the order is made.

The Attorney General issues formal opinions only to officers and departments of state government. Thus, this is an informal opinion rendered to assist you in advising the municipality you represent.

Very truly yours,
KATHRYN SHEINGOLD
Assistant Solicitor General
in Charge of Opinions