SF 2988

2nd Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to pupil transportation; establishing qualifications for type III school
bus drivers; providing criminal penalties; authorizing rulemaking; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 169A.03, subdivision 23; 171.02, by adding
subdivisions; Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 169.443, subdivision
9.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 169.443, subdivision 9,
is amended to read:

Subd. 9.

Personal cellular phone call prohibition.

(a) As used in this subdivision,
"school bus" has the meaning given in section 169.01, subdivision 6. In addition, the term
includes type III school buses as described in section 169.01, subdivision 6, clause (5),
when driven by employees or agents of school districts.

(b) A school bus driver may not operate a school bus while communicating over, or
otherwise operating, a cellular phone for personal reasons, whether hand-held or hands
free, when the vehicle is in motion.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective August 1, 2008, and applies to crimes
committed on or after that date.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 169A.03, subdivision 23, is amended to read:

Subd. 23.

School bus.

"School bus" has the meaning given in section 169.01,
subdivision 6. In addition, the term includes type III school buses as described in section
169.01, subdivision 6, clause (5), when driven by employees or agents of school districts.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective August 1, 2008, and applies to crimes
committed on or after that date.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 171.02, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 2b.

Exception for type III school bus drivers.

(a) Notwithstanding
subdivision 2, paragraph (c), the holder of a class D driver's license, without a school bus
endorsement, may operate a type III school bus described in section 169.01, subdivision 6,
clause (5), under the conditions in paragraphs (b) through (n).

(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 school bus;

(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; and

(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; and

(iv) placing the type III school bus in "park" during loading and unloading.

(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 A or type III
school bus under this subdivision.

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

(f) The operator's employer has adopted and implemented a policy that provides
for mandatory drug and alcohol testing of applicants for operator positions and current
operators, in accordance with section 181.951, subdivisions 2, 4, and 5.

(g) The operator's driver's license is verified annually by the entity that owns, leases,
or contracts for the school bus.

(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 or
has their driver's license revoked under a similar statute or ordinance of another state, is
precluded from operating a type III school bus 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 school bus
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 school bus 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) Students riding the type III school bus must have training required under section
123B.90, subdivision 2.

(m) Documentation of meeting the requirements listed in this subdivision must
be maintained under separate file at the business location for each type III school bus
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 school bus operating under
this subdivision is responsible for maintaining these files for inspection.

(n) The type III school bus must bear a current certificate of inspection issued under
section 169.451.

(o) An operator employed by a school or school district, whose normal duties do
not include operating a type III school bus, who holds a class D driver's license without a
school bus endorsement, may operate a type III school bus and is exempt from paragraphs
(d), (e), (f), (g), and (k).

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective September 1, 2008.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 171.02, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 2c.

Rulemaking.

The commissioner may adopt rules regarding the
qualifications and requirements for drivers of type III school buses.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective August 1, 2008.