SF 2119

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 03/16/2017 09:26am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; modifying various standards governing school buses;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 169.011, subdivision 34; 169.449,
subdivision 1; 171.02, subdivision 2b.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 169.011, subdivision 34, is amended to read:

Subd. 34.

Head Start bus.

(a) "Head Start bus" means a motor vehicle used to transport
children and parents to or from a Head Start facility, or to or from Head Start-related
activities, by the Head Start grantee, or by someone under an agreement with the Head Start
grantee. A Head Start bus does not include a motor vehicle transporting children or parents
to or from a Head Start facility for which parents or guardians receive direct compensation
from a Head Start grantee, a motor coach operating under charter carrier authority, or a
transit bus providing services as defined in section 174.22, subdivision 7. A Head Start bus
may be a type A, B, C, or D bus deleted text begin or type III vehicle, as described in subdivision 71 deleted text end .

(b) A Head Start bus manufactured after December 31, 1994, must meet the same
standards as a type A, B, C, or D school bus, except that a Head Start bus is not required to
be equipped with the warning signals required for a school bus under section 169.442,
subdivision 1. A Head Start bus new text begin that is not equipped as a school bus new text end must be painted colors
other than national school bus yellow.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 169.449, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Rules.

The commissioner of public safety shall adopt rules governing
the operation of school buses used for transportation of school children, when owned or
operated by a school or privately owned and operated under a contract with a school deleted text begin , and
these rules must be made a part of that contract by reference deleted text end . Each school, its officers and
employees, and each person employed under the contract is subject to these rules.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 171.02, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:

Subd. 2b.

Exception for type III vehicle drivers.

(a) Notwithstanding subdivision 2,
the holder of a class A, B, C, or D driver's license, without a school bus endorsement, may
operate a type III vehicle described in section 169.011, subdivision 71, paragraph (h), under
the conditions in paragraphs (b) through (o).

(b) The operator is an employee of the entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the school
bus.

(c) The operator's employer has adopted and implemented a policy that provides for
annual training and certification of the operator in:

(1) safe operation of a type III vehicle;

(2) understanding student behavior, including issues relating to students with disabilities;

(3) encouraging orderly conduct of students on the bus and handling incidents of
misconduct appropriately;

(4) knowing and understanding relevant laws, rules of the road, and local school bus
safety policies;

(5) handling emergency situations;

(6) proper use of seat belts and child safety restraints;

(7) performance of pretrip vehicle inspections;

(8) safe loading and unloading of students, including, but not limited to:

(i) utilizing a safe location for loading and unloading students at the curb, on the nontraffic
side of the roadway, or at off-street loading areas, driveways, yards, and other areas to
enable the student to avoid hazardous conditions;

(ii) refraining from loading and unloading students in a vehicular traffic lane, on the
shoulder, in a designated turn lane, or a lane adjacent to a designated turn lane;

(iii) avoiding a loading or unloading location that would require a pupil to cross a road,
or ensuring that the driver or an aide personally escort the pupil across the road if it is not
reasonably feasible to avoid such a location;

(iv) placing the type III vehicle in "park" during loading and unloading; and

(v) escorting a pupil across the road under item (iii) only after the motor is stopped, the
ignition key is removed, the brakes are set, and the vehicle is otherwise rendered immobile;
and

(9) compliance with paragraph (k), concerning reporting certain convictions to the
employer within ten days of the date of conviction.

(d) A background check or background investigation of the operator has been conducted
that meets the requirements under section 122A.18, subdivision 8, or 123B.03 for school
district employees; section 144.057 or chapter 245C for day care employees; or section
171.321, subdivision 3, for all other persons operating a type III vehicle under this
subdivision.

(e) Operators shall submit to a physical examination as required by section 171.321,
subdivision 2.

(f) The operator's employer requires preemployment drug testing of applicants for
operator positions. Current operators must comply with the employer's policy under section
181.951, subdivisions 2, 4, and 5. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the operator's
employer may use a Breathalyzer or similar device to fulfill random alcohol testing
requirements.

(g) The operator's driver's license is verified annually by the entity that owns, leases, or
contracts for the type III vehicle as required under section 171.321, subdivision 5.

(h) A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under section 609.02, of violating
section 169A.25, 169A.26, 169A.27, or 169A.31, or whose driver's license is revoked under
sections 169A.50 to 169A.53 of the implied consent law, or who is convicted of violating
or whose driver's license is revoked under a similar statute or ordinance of another state, is
precluded from operating a type III vehicle for five years from the date of conviction.

(i) A person who has ever been convicted of a disqualifying offense as defined in section
171.3215, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), may not operate a type III vehicle under this
subdivision.

(j) A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under section 609.02, of a moving
offense in violation of chapter 169 within three years of the first of three other moving
offenses is precluded from operating a type III vehicle for one year from the date of the last
conviction.

(k) An operator who sustains a conviction as described in paragraph (h), (i), or (j) while
employed by the entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the school bus, shall report the
conviction to the employer within ten days of the date of the conviction.

(l) new text begin An operator of a type III vehicle whose driver's license is suspended, revoked,
canceled, or disqualified by Minnesota, another state, or another jurisdiction must notify
the operator's employer in writing of the suspension, revocation, cancellation, lost privilege,
or disqualification. The operator must notify the operator's employer before the end of the
business day immediately following the day the operator received notice of the suspension,
revocation, cancellation, lost privilege, or disqualification.
new text end

new text begin (m) new text end Students riding the type III vehicle must have training required under section
123B.90, subdivision 2.

deleted text begin (m) deleted text end new text begin (n) new text end Documentation of meeting the requirements listed in this subdivision must be
maintained under separate file at the business location for each type III vehicle operator.
The business manager, school board, governing body of a nonpublic school, or any other
entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the type III vehicle operating under this subdivision
is responsible for maintaining these files for inspection.

deleted text begin (n) deleted text end new text begin (o) new text end The type III vehicle must bear a current certificate of inspection issued under
section 169.451.

deleted text begin (o) deleted text end new text begin (p) new text end An employee of a school or of a school district, who is not employed for the sole
purpose of operating a type III vehicle, is exempt from paragraphs (e) and (f).