1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; modifying provisions 
  1.3             relating to school bus safety; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 1996, sections 123.805, subdivision 1; 
  1.5             124.225, subdivisions 7f and 8m; and 169.451, 
  1.6             subdivision 5; Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, 
  1.7             section 169.01, subdivision 6; repealing Minnesota 
  1.8             Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 169.452. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 123.805, 
  1.11  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [COMPREHENSIVE POLICY.] Each school 
  1.13  district shall develop and implement a comprehensive, written 
  1.14  policy governing pupil transportation safety, including 
  1.15  transportation of nonpublic school students, when applicable.  
  1.16  The policy shall, at minimum, contain: 
  1.17     (1) provisions for appropriate student bus safety training 
  1.18  under section 123.7991; 
  1.19     (2) rules governing student conduct on school buses and in 
  1.20  school bus loading and unloading areas; 
  1.21     (3) a statement of parent or guardian responsibilities 
  1.22  relating to school bus safety; 
  1.23     (4) provisions for notifying students and parents or 
  1.24  guardians of their responsibilities and the rules; 
  1.25     (5) an intradistrict system for reporting school bus 
  1.26  accidents or misconduct, and a system for dealing with local law 
  1.27  enforcement officials in cases of criminal conduct on a school 
  2.1   bus, and a system for reporting accidents, crimes, incidents of 
  2.2   misconduct, and bus driver dismissals to the department of 
  2.3   public safety under section 169.452; 
  2.4      (6) a discipline policy to address violations of school bus 
  2.5   safety rules, including procedures for revoking a student's bus 
  2.6   riding privileges in cases of serious or repeated misconduct; 
  2.7      (7) a system for integrating school bus misconduct records 
  2.8   with other discipline records; 
  2.9      (8) a statement of bus driver duties; 
  2.10     (9) planned expenditures for safety activities under 
  2.11  section 123.799 and, where applicable, provisions governing bus 
  2.12  monitor qualifications, training, and duties; 
  2.13     (10) rules governing the use and maintenance of type III 
  2.14  vehicles, drivers of type III vehicles, qualifications to drive 
  2.15  a type III vehicle, qualifications for a type III vehicle and 
  2.16  the circumstances under which a student may be transported in a 
  2.17  type III vehicle; 
  2.18     (11) operating rules and procedures; 
  2.19     (12) provisions for annual bus driver in-service training 
  2.20  and evaluation; 
  2.21     (13) emergency procedures; 
  2.22     (14) a system for maintaining and inspecting equipment; 
  2.23     (15) requirements of the school district, if any, that 
  2.24  exceed state law minimum requirements for school bus operations; 
  2.25  and 
  2.26     (16) requirements for basic first aid training, which shall 
  2.27  include the Heimlich maneuver and procedures for dealing with 
  2.28  obstructed airways, shock, bleeding, and seizures. 
  2.29     School districts are encouraged to use the model policy 
  2.30  developed by the Minnesota school boards association, the 
  2.31  department of public safety, and the department of children, 
  2.32  families, and learning, as well as the current edition of the 
  2.33  "National Standards for School Buses and Operations" published 
  2.34  by the National Safety Council, in developing safety policies.  
  2.35  Each district shall submit a copy of its policy under this 
  2.36  subdivision to the school bus safety advisory committee no later 
  3.1   than August 1, 1994.  Each district shall review its policy 
  3.2   annually and make appropriate amendments, which must be 
  3.3   submitted to the school bus safety advisory committee within one 
  3.4   month of approval by the school board. 
  3.5      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 124.225, 
  3.6   subdivision 7f, is amended to read: 
  3.7      Subd. 7f.  [RESERVED REVENUE FOR TRANSPORTATION SAFETY.] A 
  3.8   district shall reserve an amount equal to the greater of $500 or 
  3.9   $1.50 times the number of fund balance pupil units, for that 
  3.10  school year to provide student transportation safety programs 
  3.11  under section 123.799.  This revenue may only be used if the 
  3.12  district complies with the reporting requirements of section 
  3.13  123.7991, 123.805, 169.452, 169.4582, or 171.321, subdivision 5. 
  3.14     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 124.225, 
  3.15  subdivision 8m, is amended to read: 
  3.16     Subd. 8m.  [TRANSPORTATION SAFETY AID.] A district's 
  3.17  transportation safety aid equals the district's reserved revenue 
  3.18  for transportation safety under subdivision 7f for that school 
  3.19  year.  Failure of a school district to comply with the reporting 
  3.20  requirements of section 123.7991, 123.805, 169.452, 169.4582, or 
  3.21  171.321, subdivision 5, may result in a withholding of that 
  3.22  district's transportation safety aid for that school year. 
  3.23     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  3.24  169.01, subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.25     Subd. 6.  [SCHOOL BUS.] "School bus" means a motor vehicle 
  3.26  used to transport pupils to or from a school defined in section 
  3.27  120.101, or to or from school-related activities, by the school 
  3.28  or a school district, or by someone under an agreement with the 
  3.29  school or a school district.  A school bus does not include a 
  3.30  motor vehicle transporting children to or from school for which 
  3.31  parents or guardians receive direct compensation from a school 
  3.32  district, a motor coach operating under charter carrier 
  3.33  authority, a transit bus providing services as defined in 
  3.34  section 174.22, subdivision 7, or a vehicle otherwise qualifying 
  3.35  as a type III vehicle under paragraph (5), when the vehicle is 
  3.36  properly registered and insured and being driven by an employee 
  4.1   or agent of a school district for nonscheduled transportation.  
  4.2   A school bus may be type A, type B, type C, or type D, or type 
  4.3   III as follows:  
  4.4      (1) A "type A school bus" is a conversion or body 
  4.5   constructed upon a van-type or cutaway front section vehicle 
  4.6   with a left-side driver's door, designed for carrying more than 
  4.7   ten persons.  This definition includes two classifications:  
  4.8   type A-I, with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 10,000 
  4.9   pounds; and type A-II, with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. 
  4.10     (2) A "type B school bus" is a conversion or body 
  4.11  constructed and installed upon a van or front-section vehicle 
  4.12  chassis, or stripped chassis, with a gross vehicle weight rating 
  4.13  of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than ten 
  4.14  persons.  Part of the engine is beneath or behind the windshield 
  4.15  and beside the driver's seat.  The entrance door is behind the 
  4.16  front wheels. 
  4.17     (3) A "type C school bus" is a body installed upon a flat 
  4.18  back cowl chassis with a gross vehicle weight rating of more 
  4.19  than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than ten 
  4.20  persons.  All of the engine is in front of the windshield and 
  4.21  the entrance door is behind the front wheels. 
  4.22     (4) A "type D school bus" is a body installed upon a 
  4.23  chassis, with the engine mounted in the front, midship or rear, 
  4.24  with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds, 
  4.25  designed for carrying more than ten persons.  The engine may be 
  4.26  behind the windshield and beside the driver's seat; it may be at 
  4.27  the rear of the bus, behind the rear wheels, or midship between 
  4.28  the front and rear axles.  The entrance door is ahead of the 
  4.29  front wheels. 
  4.30     (5) Type III school buses and type III Head Start buses are 
  4.31  restricted to passenger cars, station wagons, vans, and buses 
  4.32  having a maximum an original manufacturer's rated seating 
  4.33  capacity of ten people, including the driver, and a gross 
  4.34  vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less.  In this 
  4.35  subdivision, "gross vehicle weight rating" means the value 
  4.36  specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single 
  5.1   vehicle.  A "type III school bus" and "type III Head Start bus" 
  5.2   must not be outwardly equipped and identified as a type A, B, C, 
  5.3   or D school bus or type A, B, C, or D Head Start bus. 
  5.4      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.451, 
  5.5   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  5.6      Subd. 5.  [RANDOM SPOT INSPECTIONS.] In addition to the 
  5.7   annual inspection, the Minnesota state patrol has authority to 
  5.8   conduct random, unannounced spot inspections of any school bus 
  5.9   or Head Start bus being operated within the state at the 
  5.10  location where the bus is kept when not in operation to 
  5.11  ascertain whether its construction, design, equipment, and color 
  5.12  comply it is in compliance with all provisions of law, including 
  5.13  the Minnesota school bus equipment standards in sections 
  5.14  169.4501 to 169.4504. 
  5.15     Sec. 6.  [REPEALER.] 
  5.16     Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 169.452, is 
  5.17  repealed.