1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; modifying requirements for 
  1.3             school buses and school bus drivers; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 123.805, subdivision 
  1.5             1; 169.4502, subdivision 4; 171.321, subdivisions 3, 
  1.6             4, and 5; and 604A.03. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 123.805, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [COMPREHENSIVE POLICY.] Each school 
  1.11  district shall develop and implement a comprehensive, written 
  1.12  policy governing pupil transportation safety.  The policy shall, 
  1.13  at minimum, contain: 
  1.14     (1) provisions for appropriate student bus safety training 
  1.15  under section 123.7991; 
  1.16     (2) rules governing student conduct on school buses and in 
  1.17  school bus loading and unloading areas; 
  1.18     (3) a statement of parent or guardian responsibilities 
  1.19  relating to school bus safety; 
  1.20     (4) provisions for notifying students and parents or 
  1.21  guardians of their responsibilities and the rules; 
  1.22     (5) an intradistrict system for reporting school bus 
  1.23  accidents or misconduct, a system for dealing with local law 
  1.24  enforcement officials in cases of criminal conduct on a school 
  1.25  bus, and a system for reporting accidents, crimes, incidents of 
  1.26  misconduct, and bus driver dismissals to the department of 
  2.1   public safety under section 169.452; 
  2.2      (6) a discipline policy to address violations of school bus 
  2.3   safety rules, including procedures for revoking a student's bus 
  2.4   riding privileges in cases of serious or repeated misconduct; 
  2.5      (7) a system for integrating school bus misconduct records 
  2.6   with other discipline records; 
  2.7      (8) a statement of bus driver duties; 
  2.8      (9) planned expenditures for safety activities under 
  2.9   section 123.799 and, where applicable, provisions governing bus 
  2.10  monitor qualifications, training, and duties; 
  2.11     (10) rules governing the use and maintenance of type III 
  2.12  vehicles, drivers of type III vehicles, and the circumstances 
  2.13  under which a student may be transported in a type III vehicle; 
  2.14     (11) operating rules and procedures; 
  2.15     (12) provisions for annual bus driver in-service training 
  2.16  and evaluation; 
  2.17     (13) emergency procedures; and 
  2.18     (14) a system for maintaining and inspecting equipment; 
  2.19     (15) requirements of the school district, if any, that 
  2.20  exceed state law minimum requirements for school bus operations; 
  2.21  and 
  2.22     (16) requirements for basic first aid training, which may 
  2.23  include the Heimlich maneuver and cardiopulmonary resuscitation 
  2.24  procedures. 
  2.25     School districts are encouraged to use the current edition 
  2.26  of the "National Standards for School Buses and Operations" 
  2.27  published by the National Safety Council in developing safety 
  2.28  policies.  Each district shall submit a copy of its policy under 
  2.29  this subdivision to the school bus safety advisory committee no 
  2.30  later than August 1, 1994, and review and make appropriate 
  2.31  amendments annually by August 1. 
  2.32     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.4502, 
  2.33  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.34     Subd. 4.  [COLOR.] Fenders may be painted black.  The hood 
  2.35  may be painted nonreflective black or nonreflective yellow.  The 
  2.36  grill may be manufacturer's standard color or chrome. 
  3.1      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 171.321, 
  3.2   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.3      Subd. 3.  [STUDY OF APPLICANT.] (a) Before issuing or 
  3.4   renewing a school bus endorsement, the commissioner shall 
  3.5   conduct a criminal and driver's license records check of the 
  3.6   applicant.  The commissioner may also conduct the check at any 
  3.7   time while a person is so licensed.  The check shall consist of 
  3.8   a criminal records check of the state criminal records 
  3.9   repository and a check of the driver's license records system.  
  3.10  If the applicant has resided in Minnesota for less than five 
  3.11  years, the check shall also include a criminal records check of 
  3.12  information from the state law enforcement agencies in the 
  3.13  states where the person resided during the five years before 
  3.14  moving to Minnesota, and of the national criminal records 
  3.15  repository including the criminal justice data communications 
  3.16  network.  The applicant's failure to cooperate with the 
  3.17  commissioner in conducting the records check is reasonable cause 
  3.18  to deny an application or cancel a school bus endorsement.  The 
  3.19  commissioner may not release the results of the records check to 
  3.20  any person except the applicant. 
  3.21     (b) The commissioner may issue to an otherwise qualified 
  3.22  applicant a temporary school bus endorsement, effective for no 
  3.23  more than 120 days, upon presentation of (1) an affidavit by the 
  3.24  applicant that the applicant has not been convicted of a 
  3.25  disqualifying offense and (2) a criminal history check from each 
  3.26  state of residence for the previous five years.  The criminal 
  3.27  history check may be conducted and prepared by any public or 
  3.28  private source acceptable to the commissioner. 
  3.29     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 171.321, 
  3.30  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  3.31     Subd. 4.  [TRAINING.] (a) No person shall drive a class A, 
  3.32  B, C, or D school bus when transporting school children to or 
  3.33  from school or upon a school-related trip or activity without 
  3.34  having demonstrated sufficient skills and knowledge to transport 
  3.35  students in a safe and legal manner.  A bus driver must have 
  3.36  training or experience that allows the driver to meet at least 
  4.1   the following competencies: 
  4.2      (1) safely operate the type of school bus the driver will 
  4.3   be driving; 
  4.4      (2) understand student behavior, including issues relating 
  4.5   to students with disabilities; 
  4.6      (3) ensure orderly conduct of students on the bus and 
  4.7   handle incidents of misconduct appropriately; 
  4.8      (4) know and understand relevant laws, rules of the road, 
  4.9   and local school bus safety policies; 
  4.10     (5) handle emergency situations; and 
  4.11     (6) safely load and unload students; and 
  4.12     (7) demonstrate proficiency in first aid and 
  4.13  cardiopulmonary resuscitation procedures. 
  4.14     (b) The commissioner of public safety, in conjunction with 
  4.15  the commissioner of education, shall develop a comprehensive 
  4.16  model school bus driver training program and model assessments 
  4.17  for school bus driver training competencies, which are not 
  4.18  subject to chapter 14.  A school district may use alternative 
  4.19  assessments for bus driver training competencies with the 
  4.20  approval of the commissioner of public safety. 
  4.21     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 171.321, 
  4.22  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  4.23     Subd. 5.  [ANNUAL EVALUATION.] A school district, nonpublic 
  4.24  school, or private contractor shall evaluate each bus 
  4.25  driver annually once every two years to assure that, at minimum, 
  4.26  each driver continues to meet school bus driver training 
  4.27  competencies under subdivision 4.  A school district, nonpublic 
  4.28  school, or private contractor also shall provide at least eight 
  4.29  hours of in-service training annually biennially to each school 
  4.30  bus driver.  As part of the annual evaluation, a district, 
  4.31  nonpublic school, or private contractor shall check the license 
  4.32  of each person who transports students for the district with the 
  4.33  National Drivers Register or the department of public 
  4.34  safety.  After evaluating a bus driver, a school district, 
  4.35  nonpublic school, or private contractor shall certify annually 
  4.36  to the commissioner of public safety that each driver has 
  5.1   received eight hours of in-service training and has met the 
  5.2   training competencies. 
  5.3      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 604A.03, is 
  5.4   amended to read: 
  5.5      604A.03 [MISCELLANEOUS GOOD SAMARITAN LAWS.] 
  5.6      Certain persons who provide assistance at the scene of a 
  5.7   hazardous materials response incident The following persons are 
  5.8   not liable for damages to the extent provided in section 
  5.9   299A.51, subdivision 3: 
  5.10     (1) persons who provide assistance at the scene of a 
  5.11  hazardous materials response incident; and 
  5.12     (2) school bus drivers and their employers, when a school 
  5.13  bus driver renders first aid in the course of the driver's 
  5.14  duties.