1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; authorizing lap and shoulder 
  1.3             belts on school buses; requiring training on 
  1.4             appropriately using lap and shoulder belts; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 123B.90, 
  1.6             subdivisions 2, 3, and by adding a subdivision; 
  1.7             169.447, by adding subdivisions; and 169.4502, by 
  1.8             adding a subdivision. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 123B.90, 
  1.11  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [STUDENT TRAINING.] (a) Each district must 
  1.13  provide public school pupils enrolled in grades kindergarten 
  1.14  through 10 with age-appropriate school bus safety training.  The 
  1.15  training must be results-oriented and shall consist of both 
  1.16  classroom instruction and practical training using a school 
  1.17  bus.  Upon completing the training, a student shall be able to 
  1.18  demonstrate knowledge and understanding of at least the 
  1.19  following competencies and concepts: 
  1.20     (1) transportation by school bus is a privilege and not a 
  1.21  right; 
  1.22     (2) district policies for student conduct and school bus 
  1.23  safety; 
  1.24     (3) appropriate conduct while on the school bus; 
  1.25     (4) the danger zones surrounding a school bus; 
  1.26     (5) procedures for safely boarding and leaving a school 
  1.27  bus; 
  2.1      (6) procedures for safe street or road crossing; and 
  2.2      (7) school bus evacuation and other emergency procedures; 
  2.3   and 
  2.4      (8) appropriate training on the use of lap belts or lap and 
  2.5   shoulder belts. 
  2.6      (b) Each nonpublic school located within the district must 
  2.7   provide all nonpublic school pupils enrolled in grades 
  2.8   kindergarten through 10 who are transported by school bus at 
  2.9   public expense and attend school within the district's 
  2.10  boundaries with training as required in paragraph (a).  The 
  2.11  school district shall make a bus available for the practical 
  2.12  training if the district transports the nonpublic students.  
  2.13  Each nonpublic school shall provide the instruction. 
  2.14     (c) All students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 3 
  2.15  who are transported by school bus and are enrolled during the 
  2.16  first or second week of school must demonstrate achievement of 
  2.17  the school bus safety training competencies by the end of the 
  2.18  third week of school.  All students enrolled in grades 4 through 
  2.19  10 who are transported by school bus and are enrolled during the 
  2.20  first or second week of school must demonstrate achievement of 
  2.21  the competencies by the end of the sixth week of school.  
  2.22  Students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 10 who enroll 
  2.23  in a school after the second week of school and are transported 
  2.24  by school bus shall undergo school bus safety training and 
  2.25  demonstrate achievement of the school bus safety competencies 
  2.26  within four weeks of the first day of attendance.  The pupil 
  2.27  transportation safety director in each district must certify to 
  2.28  the commissioner annually that all students transported by 
  2.29  school bus within the district have satisfactorily demonstrated 
  2.30  knowledge and understanding of the school bus safety 
  2.31  competencies according to this section or provide an explanation 
  2.32  for a student's failure to demonstrate the competencies.  The 
  2.33  principal or other chief administrator of each nonpublic school 
  2.34  must certify annually to the public transportation safety 
  2.35  director of the district in which the school is located that all 
  2.36  of the school's students transported by school bus at public 
  3.1   expense have received training.  A district may deny 
  3.2   transportation to a student who fails to demonstrate the 
  3.3   competencies, unless the student is unable to achieve the 
  3.4   competencies due to a disability, or to a student who attends a 
  3.5   nonpublic school that fails to provide training as required by 
  3.6   this subdivision. 
  3.7      (d) A district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.8   transported by school bus at public expense must, to the extent 
  3.9   possible, provide kindergarten pupils with bus safety training 
  3.10  before the first day of school. 
  3.11     (e) A district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.12  transported by school bus at public expense must also provide 
  3.13  student safety education for bicycling and pedestrian safety, 
  3.14  for students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 5. 
  3.15     (f) A district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.16  transported by school bus at public expense must make reasonable 
  3.17  accommodations for the school bus, bicycle, and pedestrian 
  3.18  safety training of pupils known to speak English as a second 
  3.19  language and pupils with disabilities. 
  3.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 123B.90, 
  3.21  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.22     Subd. 3.  [MODEL TRAINING PROGRAM.] The commissioner shall 
  3.23  develop a comprehensive model school bus safety training program 
  3.24  for pupils who ride the bus that includes bus safety curriculum 
  3.25  for both classroom and practical instruction, methods for 
  3.26  assessing attainment of school bus safety competencies, and 
  3.27  age-appropriate instructional materials.  The model training 
  3.28  program must include information on the appropriate use of lap 
  3.29  belts or lap and shoulder belts, as applicable.  The program 
  3.30  must be adaptable for use by students with disabilities. 
  3.31     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 123B.90, is 
  3.32  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.33     Subd. 4.  [PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.] A school board that 
  3.34  adopts a policy requiring the use of seat belts on school buses 
  3.35  must annually notify each student's parent or guardian of the 
  3.36  district's seat belt policy and of its student seat belt 
  4.1   training procedures. 
  4.2      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.447, is 
  4.3   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.4      Subd. 2a.  [PASSENGER LAP AND SHOULDER BELTS.] (a) In 
  4.5   addition to the requirements in section 169.4501, subdivision 1, 
  4.6   a school bus may be equipped with an approved lap belt or an 
  4.7   approved lap and shoulder belt installed for each 
  4.8   passenger-seating position on the bus.  The design and 
  4.9   installation of lap belts and lap and shoulder belts required 
  4.10  under this paragraph must meet the standards of the commissioner 
  4.11  established under paragraph (b). 
  4.12     (b) The commissioner shall consider all concerns necessary 
  4.13  to properly integrate lap belts or lap and shoulder belts into 
  4.14  the current compartmentalization safety system and prescribe 
  4.15  standards for the design and installation of lap and shoulder 
  4.16  belts required under paragraph (a).  The standards are not 
  4.17  subject to chapter 14 and are specifically not subject to 
  4.18  section 14.386. 
  4.19     (c) This subdivision does not apply to specially equipped 
  4.20  school buses under section 169.4504. 
  4.21     (d) A passenger on a school bus equipped with lap belts or 
  4.22  lap and shoulder belts must use these lap belts or lap and 
  4.23  shoulder belts unless the passenger, or if the passenger is a 
  4.24  minor, the passenger's parent or guardian, has notified the 
  4.25  school district in writing that the passenger does not intend to 
  4.26  wear the lap belt or lap and shoulder belt. 
  4.27     (e) In an action for personal injury by a passenger on a 
  4.28  school bus against a school district, a school bus operator 
  4.29  under contract with a school district, or any agent or employee 
  4.30  of a school district or operator, or against a volunteer, no 
  4.31  such person or entity shall be held liable because the injured 
  4.32  party was not wearing a safety belt; provided, however, that 
  4.33  nothing contained herein shall be construed to grant immunity 
  4.34  from liability for failure to: 
  4.35     (1) maintain in operating order any equipment required by 
  4.36  statute, rule, or school district policy; or 
  5.1      (2) comply with an applicable statute, rule, or school 
  5.2   district policy. 
  5.3      (f) In a civil action, a school district, a school bus 
  5.4   contract operator, any agent or employee of a school district or 
  5.5   operator, or a volunteer is not liable for failing to assist any 
  5.6   child with the adjustment, fastening, unfastening, or other use 
  5.7   of the lap belt or lap and shoulder belt. 
  5.8      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.447, is 
  5.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.10     Subd. 2b.  [SEAT BACKS.] In addition to the requirements in 
  5.11  section 169.4501, subdivision 1, a school bus manufactured after 
  5.12  January 1, 2000, with lap belts or lap and shoulder belts must 
  5.13  have a minimum seat back height of 28 inches or higher as 
  5.14  required under subdivision 2a, paragraph (b). 
  5.15     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.4502, is 
  5.16  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.17     Subd. 16.  [BUS LENGTH.] The school bus may be up to 45 
  5.18  feet in overall length.  
  5.19     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.20     Sections 1 to 6 are effective the day following final 
  5.21  enactment.