HF 3067

as introduced - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for school bus 
  1.3             safety; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 
  1.4             171.321, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             1995 Supplement, sections 123.7991, subdivision 2; 
  1.6             123.805, subdivision 1; 124.225, subdivision 7f; 
  1.7             169.452; and 631.40, subdivision 1a. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  1.10  123.7991, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [STUDENT TRAINING.] (a) Each school district and 
  1.12  nonpublic school with students transported by school bus shall 
  1.13  provide public its school pupils enrolled in grades kindergarten 
  1.14  through 10 with age-appropriate school bus safety training.  The 
  1.15  training shall be results-oriented and shall consist of both 
  1.16  classroom instruction and practical training using a school 
  1.17  bus.  Pupils enrolled in grades kindergarten through 5 shall 
  1.18  receive school bus evacuation and emergency procedure training 
  1.19  at least twice during each school year.  Upon completing the 
  1.20  training, a student shall be able to demonstrate knowledge and 
  1.21  understanding of at least the following competencies and 
  1.22  concepts: 
  1.23     (1) transportation by school bus is a privilege and not a 
  1.24  right; 
  1.25     (2) district policies for student conduct and school bus 
  1.26  safety; 
  2.1      (3) appropriate conduct while on the school bus; 
  2.2      (4) the danger zones surrounding a school bus; 
  2.3      (5) procedures for safely boarding and leaving a school 
  2.4   bus; 
  2.5      (6) procedures for safe street or road crossing; and 
  2.6      (7) school bus evacuation and other emergency procedures. 
  2.7      (b) Each nonpublic school located within the district shall 
  2.8   provide all nonpublic school pupils enrolled in grades 
  2.9   kindergarten through 10 who are transported by school bus at 
  2.10  public expense and attend school within the district's 
  2.11  boundaries with training as required in paragraph (a).  The 
  2.12  school district shall must make a school bus available for the 
  2.13  practical training if the district transports the nonpublic 
  2.14  students of students attending a nonpublic school within the 
  2.15  district when students are transported by school district at 
  2.16  public expense.  Each nonpublic school shall must provide the 
  2.17  instruction to all its students transported by school bus. 
  2.18     (c) Student school bus safety training shall commence 
  2.19  during school bus safety week.  All students enrolled in grades 
  2.20  kindergarten through 3 who are transported by school bus and are 
  2.21  enrolled during the first or second week of school must 
  2.22  demonstrate achievement of the school bus safety training 
  2.23  competencies by the end of the third week of school.  All 
  2.24  students enrolled in grades 4 through 10 who are transported by 
  2.25  school bus and are enrolled during the first or second week of 
  2.26  school must demonstrate achievement of the competencies by the 
  2.27  end of the sixth week of school.  Students enrolled in grades 
  2.28  kindergarten through 10 who enroll in a school after the second 
  2.29  week of school and are transported by school bus shall undergo 
  2.30  school bus safety training and demonstrate achievement of the 
  2.31  school bus safety competencies within four weeks of the first 
  2.32  day of attendance.  The pupil transportation safety director in 
  2.33  each district must certify to the commissioner of children, 
  2.34  families, and learning annually that all students transported by 
  2.35  school bus within the district at public expense have 
  2.36  satisfactorily demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the 
  3.1   school bus safety competencies according to this section or 
  3.2   provide an explanation for a student's failure to demonstrate 
  3.3   the competencies.  The principal or other chief administrator of 
  3.4   each nonpublic school must certify annually to the public school 
  3.5   transportation safety director of the district in which the 
  3.6   school is located that all of the school's students transported 
  3.7   by school bus at public expense have received training.  A 
  3.8   school district may deny transportation to a student who fails 
  3.9   to demonstrate the competencies, unless the student is unable to 
  3.10  achieve the competencies due to a disability, or to a student 
  3.11  who attends a nonpublic school that fails to provide training as 
  3.12  required by this subdivision.  The principal or other chief 
  3.13  administrator of each nonpublic school whose students are 
  3.14  transported by school bus at private expense must certify 
  3.15  annually to the commissioner of children, families, and learning 
  3.16  that all students transported by school bus have satisfactorily 
  3.17  demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the school bus 
  3.18  safety competencies according to this section or provide an 
  3.19  explanation for a student's failure to demonstrate the 
  3.20  competencies.  
  3.21     (d) A school district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.22  transported by school bus at public expense must, to the extent 
  3.23  possible, provide kindergarten pupils with bus safety training 
  3.24  before the first day of school. 
  3.25     (e) A school district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.26  transported by school bus at public expense must also provide 
  3.27  student safety education for bicycling and pedestrian safety, 
  3.28  for grades kindergarten through 5. 
  3.29     (f) A school district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.30  transported by school bus at public expense must make reasonable 
  3.31  accommodations for the school bus, bicycle, and pedestrian 
  3.32  safety training of pupils known to speak English as a second 
  3.33  language and pupils with disabilities. 
  3.34     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  3.35  123.805, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.36     Subdivision 1.  [COMPREHENSIVE POLICY.] Each school 
  4.1   district shall develop and implement a comprehensive, written 
  4.2   policy governing pupil transportation safety, including and 
  4.3   applicable to transportation of nonpublic school students, when 
  4.4   applicable transported by school bus at public expense.  Each 
  4.5   nonpublic school with students transported by school bus at 
  4.6   private expense shall develop and implement a comprehensive, 
  4.7   written policy governing pupil transportation safety.  The 
  4.8   policy These policies shall, at minimum, contain: 
  4.9      (1) provisions for appropriate student bus safety training 
  4.10  under section 123.7991; 
  4.11     (2) rules governing student conduct on school buses and in 
  4.12  school bus loading and unloading areas; 
  4.13     (3) a statement of parent or guardian responsibilities 
  4.14  relating to school bus safety; 
  4.15     (4) provisions for notifying students and parents or 
  4.16  guardians of their responsibilities and the rules; 
  4.17     (5) an intradistrict system for reporting school bus 
  4.18  accidents or misconduct, a system for dealing with local law 
  4.19  enforcement officials in cases of criminal conduct on a school 
  4.20  bus, and a system for reporting accidents, crimes, incidents of 
  4.21  misconduct, and bus driver dismissals to the department of 
  4.22  public safety under section 169.452; 
  4.23     (6) a discipline policy to address violations of school bus 
  4.24  safety rules, including procedures for revoking a student's bus 
  4.25  riding privileges in cases of serious or repeated misconduct; 
  4.26     (7) a system for integrating school bus misconduct records 
  4.27  with other discipline records; 
  4.28     (8) a statement of bus driver duties; 
  4.29     (9) planned expenditures for safety activities under 
  4.30  section 123.799 and, where applicable, provisions governing bus 
  4.31  monitor qualifications, training, and duties; 
  4.32     (10) rules governing the use and maintenance of type III 
  4.33  vehicles, drivers of type III vehicles, qualifications to drive 
  4.34  a type III vehicle, qualifications for a type III vehicle and 
  4.35  the circumstances under which a student may be transported in a 
  4.36  type III vehicle; 
  5.1      (11) operating rules and procedures; 
  5.2      (12) provisions for annual bus driver in-service training 
  5.3   and evaluation; 
  5.4      (13) emergency procedures; 
  5.5      (14) a system for maintaining and inspecting equipment; 
  5.6      (15) requirements of the school district, if any, that 
  5.7   exceed state law minimum requirements for school bus operations; 
  5.8   and 
  5.9      (16) requirements for basic first aid training, which shall 
  5.10  include the Heimlich maneuver and procedures for dealing with 
  5.11  obstructed airways, shock, bleeding, and seizures. 
  5.12     School districts and nonpublic schools are encouraged to 
  5.13  use the model policy developed by the Minnesota school boards 
  5.14  association, the department of public safety, and the department 
  5.15  of children, families, and learning, as well as the current 
  5.16  edition of the "National Standards for School Buses and 
  5.17  Operations" published by the National Safety Council, in 
  5.18  developing safety policies.  Each district shall submit a copy 
  5.19  of its policy under this subdivision to the school bus safety 
  5.20  advisory committee no later than August 1, 1994.  Each nonpublic 
  5.21  school whose students are transported by school bus at private 
  5.22  expense shall submit a copy of its policy under this subdivision 
  5.23  to the school bus safety advisory committee no later than August 
  5.24  1, 1996.  Each district and nonpublic school transporting its 
  5.25  students by school bus at private expense shall review its 
  5.26  policy annually and make appropriate amendments, which must be 
  5.27  submitted to the school bus safety advisory committee within one 
  5.28  month of approval by the school board or private school 
  5.29  principal or other chief administrator. 
  5.30     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  5.31  124.225, subdivision 7f, is amended to read: 
  5.32     Subd. 7f.  [RESERVED REVENUE FOR TRANSPORTATION SAFETY.] A 
  5.33  district shall reserve an amount equal to the greater of $500 
  5.34  or $1.50 $3 times the number of fund balance pupil units, for 
  5.35  that school year to provide student transportation safety 
  5.36  programs under section 123.799.  This revenue may only be used 
  6.1   if the district complies with the reporting requirements of 
  6.2   section 123.7991, 123.805, 169.452, 169.4582, or 171.321, 
  6.3   subdivision 5. 
  6.4      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  6.5   169.452, is amended to read: 
  6.6      169.452 [ACCIDENT AND SERIOUS INCIDENT REPORTING.] 
  6.7      The department of public safety shall develop uniform 
  6.8   definitions of a school bus accident, an incident of serious 
  6.9   misconduct, and an incident that results in personal injury or 
  6.10  death.  The department shall determine what type of information 
  6.11  on school bus accidents and incidents, including criminal 
  6.12  conduct, and bus driver dismissals for cause should be collected 
  6.13  and develop a uniform accident and incident reporting form to 
  6.14  collect those data, including data relating to type III 
  6.15  vehicles, statewide.  In addition to the form, the department 
  6.16  shall have an alternative method of reporting that allows school 
  6.17  districts to use computer technology to provide the required 
  6.18  information.  School districts and nonpublic schools shall 
  6.19  report the information required by the department using either 
  6.20  format.  A school district or nonpublic school must not be 
  6.21  charged for reporting forms or reporting procedures under this 
  6.22  section.  Data collected under this section shall be analyzed to 
  6.23  help develop accident, crime, and misconduct prevention 
  6.24  programs.  Failure to report the information as required by the 
  6.25  department may result in a withholding of reserve revenue 
  6.26  funds.  This section is not subject to chapter 14. 
  6.27     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 171.321, is 
  6.28  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.29     Subd 6.  [SCHOOL BUS DRIVER TRAINING FILES.] A district's 
  6.30  school transportation safety director, the chief administrator 
  6.31  of a nonpublic school, or a private contractor shall maintain a 
  6.32  file on each of their respective school bus drivers transporting 
  6.33  students.  The file shall contain, at a minimum, the driver's 
  6.34  current driving history, current certification of competency, 
  6.35  and number of hours of in-service training completed by the 
  6.36  driver.  The files shall be made accessible to the commissioner 
  7.1   or the commissioner's designee during regular business hours.  
  7.2      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  7.3   631.40, subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  7.4      Subd. 1a.  [CERTIFIED COPY OF DISQUALIFYING OFFENSE 
  7.5   CONVICTIONS SENT TO PUBLIC SAFETY AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS.] When a 
  7.6   person is convicted of committing a disqualifying offense, as 
  7.7   defined in section 171.3215, subdivision 1, a gross misdemeanor, 
  7.8   a fourth moving violation within a three-year period the 
  7.9   previous three years, or a violation of section 169.121 or 
  7.10  169.129, or a similar statute or ordinance from another state, 
  7.11  the court shall determine whether the offender is a school bus 
  7.12  driver as defined in section 171.3215, subdivision 1, whether 
  7.13  the offender possesses a school bus driver's endorsement on the 
  7.14  offender's driver's license and in what school districts the 
  7.15  offender drives a school bus.  If the offender is a school bus 
  7.16  driver or possesses a school bus driver's endorsement, the court 
  7.17  administrator shall send a certified copy of the conviction to 
  7.18  the department of public safety and to the school districts in 
  7.19  which the offender drives a school bus within ten days after the 
  7.20  conviction.