1999 Minnesota Statutes

     123B.91 School district bus safety responsibilities. 

    Subdivision 1.    Comprehensive policy.  Each district 
 must develop and implement a comprehensive, written policy 
 governing pupil transportation safety, including transportation 
 of nonpublic school students, when applicable.  The policy 
 shall, at minimum, contain: 

    (1) provisions for appropriate student bus safety training 
 under section 123B.90; 

    (2) rules governing student conduct on school buses and in 
 school bus loading and unloading areas; 

    (3) a statement of parent or guardian responsibilities 
 relating to school bus safety; 

    (4) provisions for notifying students and parents or 
 guardians of their responsibilities and the rules, including the 
 district's seat belt policy, if applicable; 

    (5) an intradistrict system for reporting school bus 
 accidents or misconduct and a system for dealing with local law 
 enforcement officials in cases of criminal conduct on a school 
 bus; 

    (6) a discipline policy to address violations of school bus 
 safety rules, including procedures for revoking a student's bus 
 riding privileges in cases of serious or repeated misconduct; 

    (7) a system for integrating school bus misconduct records 
 with other discipline records; 

    (8) a statement of bus driver duties; 

    (9) planned expenditures for safety activities under 
 section 123B.89 and, where applicable, provisions governing bus 
 monitor qualifications, training, and duties; 

    (10) rules governing the use and maintenance of type III 
 vehicles, drivers of type III vehicles, qualifications to drive 
 a type III vehicle, qualifications for a type III vehicle and 
 the circumstances under which a student may be transported in a 
 type III vehicle; 

    (11) operating rules and procedures; 

    (12) provisions for annual bus driver in-service training 
 and evaluation; 

    (13) emergency procedures; 

    (14) a system for maintaining and inspecting equipment; 

    (15) requirements of the school district, if any, that 
 exceed state law minimum requirements for school bus operations; 
 and 

    (16) requirements for basic first aid training, which must 
 include the Heimlich maneuver and procedures for dealing with 
 obstructed airways, shock, bleeding, and seizures. 

    Districts are encouraged to use the model policy developed 
 by the Minnesota school boards association, the department of 
 public safety, and the department of children, families, and 
 learning, as well as the current edition of the "National 
 Standards for School Buses and Operations" published by the 
 National Safety Council, in developing safety policies.  Each 
 district shall review its policy annually and make appropriate 
 amendments, which must be submitted to the school bus safety 
 advisory committee within one month of approval by the school 
 board. 

    Subd. 2.    School transportation safety director.  Each 
 board shall designate a school transportation safety director to 
 oversee and implement pupil transportation safety policies.  The 
 director shall have day-to-day responsibility for pupil 
 transportation safety within the district, including 
 transportation of nonpublic school children when provided by the 
 district. 

    HIST: 1994 c 647 art 12 s 14; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 2 s 8,9; art 16 
 s 13; 1998 c 397 art 7 s 9,164; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 6 s 
 21; 1999 c 241 art 9 s 24