5 CSR 30-261.010 - Requirements for the Operation of School Buses
(1) General Requirements for Approval of
School Bus Transportation.
(A) All
transportation of pupils furnished by a school district shall be authorized in
accordance with the law.
(B) School
bus routes over which school buses travel shall be approved by public school
district board of education action no later than the end of October for its
initial approval and no later than the end of June for the final approval of
modifications made during the school year.
(C) All vehicles used for transporting pupils
shall carry liability and property damage insurance.
(D) There shall be on file in the appropriate
school district office copies of current contracts, bonds, driver's physical
examination certificates, driver's license with applicable endorsements, and
maps of school bus routes. Public school district boards of education shall
require operators of school buses to conduct and prepare a record of the daily
pretrip inspection for each school bus.
(E) Public school district boards of
education shall provide for proper accounting of pupil transportation data and
shall prepare and submit to the State Board of Education (board) necessary
reports for apportioning state transportation aid and for statistical purposes.
1. A listing shall be made of pupils
regularly transported on each board of education's approved routes on the
second Wednesday of the month for the months of October and February.
2. The school district listing of pupils
regularly transported by route must be signed and maintained by the
superintendent of the schools or an appointed designee.
(F) No school district shall receive state
transportation aid for any pupil transported in a vehicle or over a school bus
route which has not been approved by the public school district board of
education or for any pupil transported in a vehicle whose driver does not meet
the school bus driver qualifications as stated in section (2) of this
rule.
(G) If a lock is to be placed
on an emergency exit of a school bus, it shall be designed in a manner so that
the engine cannot be started with the emergency exit locked.
(H) Public school district boards of
education shall forbid drivers to pull any type of trailer behind a school
bus.
(I) Only those signs and
lettering allowed by law or rule shall be written on or attached to a school
bus, except for safety-related signs or lettering which, if used, shall be
placed on the rear of the bus, in no way obstructing the driver's view. An
exception to the requirement of this subsection concerning rules may be granted
by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
(J) Emergency evacuation drills on school
buses shall be required for all students in grades kindergarten through six
(K-6) at least once per semester. The first drill must be completed annually
prior to October 31. The public school district board of education shall
prescribe emergency evacuation drill requirements for all other
students.
(K) Boards of education
shall require operators of school buses to conduct and prepare a record of the
daily pretrip inspection for each school bus.
(2) School Bus Driver Qualifications.
(A) All school bus drivers shall be duly
licensed in accordance with Missouri statutes and public school district board
policy and-
1. Be in good physical and mental
health;
2. Undergo a biennial
physical examination by a medical examiner who is licensed, certified, and/or
registered, in accordance with applicable Missouri laws and regulations, to
perform physical examinations to determine whether they meet the requirements
of section 302.272, RSMo, and present a
signed physical examination certificate that they, in the medical examiner's
judgment, meet or exceed those requirements to the employer. The term medical
examiner includes, but is not limited to, doctors of medicine, doctors of
osteopathy, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, and doctors of
chiropractic. For new drivers, such statement shall be on file prior to the
driver's initial operation of a school bus. A school bus driver whose ability
to safely operate a school bus has been impaired by a physical or mental injury
or disease, as determined by the public school district board of education,
must submit a release by the attending physician prior to resuming school bus
operation; and
3. Undergo testing
for drug and alcohol use/abuse, in compliance with
laws.
(3)
Driver Operation.
(A) A school bus driver
shall:
1. Observe carefully all signs,
signals, and rules of the road as provided by the Missouri Motor Vehicle
Laws;
2. Follow these loading and
unloading procedures:
A. If school bus is
equipped with a master switch, make sure the master switch is in the "on"
position;
B. Activate prewarning
amber flashing lights at least five hundred feet (500') before a designated
stop;
C. When stopping for a
designated stop, apply brakes hard enough to light up the brake lights so that
vehicles behind the school bus will know it is slowing down;
D. Pull as far to the right as practicable on
the traveled portion of the roadway and at a location so that the school bus is
visible for at least three hundred feet (300') in both directions or five
hundred feet (500') if the speed limit is greater than sixty (60) miles per
hour. Check all mirrors to see that traffic is clear and it is safe to
stop;
E. Approach waiting students
with extreme care, paying attention to the surface on which the school bus will
stop (dry, slippery, slopes right, rough ground, and the like). Bring the
school bus to a complete stop so that the closest part of the school bus is not
less than six feet (6') and not more than ten feet (10') from the closest
student;
F. Place the transmission
in neutral and set the parking brake as needed;
G. Deactivate the prewarning amber flashing
lights and activate the red flashing warning lights and the stop arm when
opening the service door after stopping;
H. Check traffic in front and rear of the
school bus before you give the students a hand signal that it is okay to cross
the road. Drivers should train students not to approach the school bus until
given a signal and to check traffic before crossing the roadway;
I. Require students who must cross the
roadway after leaving the bus or before boarding the bus to cross a minimum of
ten feet (10') in front of the bus and only upon a signal given by the driver,
monitor, or bus patrol when organized bus patrols are used; and
J. Have students go directly to their seats.
When students are seated, check traffic and close the front door to deactivate
the red flashing warning lights and stop arm;
3. Perform and prepare written documentation
of the daily pretrip inspection which is to be submitted to the transportation
administrator. Pretrip inspection of vehicle shall include brakes, steering
components, lights, signaling devices, emergency door, tires, and safety
equipment, as a minimum. Any defects or deficiencies that may affect the safety
of vehicle operation or result in mechanical breakdown shall be reported
immediately in writing and driver shall not operate school bus until the defect
or deficiency has been corrected;
4. Activate the prewarning amber flashing
lights if a school bus stop must be made in close proximity to the crest of a
hill or on curves with limited sight distance, approximately one hundred feet
(100') before passing the crest so that vehicles following to the rear shall be
made aware the bus is preparing to stop for the purpose of loading or unloading
pupils;
5. Assume control of all
children while they are being transported requiring respectable and orderly
behavior from them. Particular attention should be given to the care and
protection of the younger pupils. Any continued disorderly conduct should be
reported to the proper school authorities;
6. Not back school bus on school grounds
unless rear is guarded by school patrol or adult and driver is advised that the
way is clear. Backing the bus at any time shall be avoided if at all
possible;
7. Follow these
procedures when a school bus is disabled:
A.
Stop the bus as far to the right as possible (on the shoulder, if
available);
B. Secure the bus,
activate hazard/warning lights, and set parking brake;
C. Keep children in bus. If location of the
bus is unsafe, remove the children to a safer location;
D. Place triangular reflectors a minimum of
one hundred feet (100') in both the front and rear of the bus;
E. Telephone, radio, or send capable student
to call authorities, giving bus location and description of breakdown;
and
F. See that all pupils are
delivered to their destinations;
8. Keep inside of vehicle clean and
comfortable at all times;
9. Keep
lettering and lights on front and rear of bus clean so that all markings are
clearly visible;
10. Keep service
door closed at all times when bus is in motion;
11. Not leave a loaded bus while motor is
running;
12. Fill the fuel tank
only when there are no children in the bus;
13. Not allow animals on the school bus
except for seeing eye dogs or other specially trained animals necessary to
furnish special education services for students with disabilities to comply
with applicable state law and regulations;
14. Not allow weapons or explosive material
on the school bus;
15. Not allow
items on the school bus to protrude into or block the aisle or be left in the
driver or emergency exit areas;
16.
Make and promptly file all daily, weekly, and monthly reports which may be
required;
17. Use seat belt
whenever the bus is in motion;
18.
Not drive any school bus for more than:
A.
Eight (8) consecutive hours. Hours will be consecutive unless the individual
ceases operation of the vehicle for at least sixty (60) minutes; or
B. An aggregate of twelve (12) hours in a
twenty-four- (24-) hour period;
19. Illuminate headlights whenever students
are being transported;
20. Not use
tobacco products at any time in the school bus; and
21. Not operate a school bus while under the
influence of intoxicants, narcotics, or drugs.
(4) Public School District Route Approval.
(A) General Definitions.
1. Eligible miles. Those actual regular
school term and handicapped miles traveled from where the bus is kept at night
until it returns to the same location after the pupils have been returned home,
as long as it is used only to transport vocational students and K-12 pupils to
and from school at the beginning and ending of the regular school day, are
eligible for state transportation aid.
2. Ineligible miles. All actual miles that
are driven for any purpose other than transporting K-12 students to or from
school during the school term are ineligible for state transportation aid.
Regular summer school routes, nonhandicapped early childhood routes, field
trips, athletic trips, maintenance miles and other extracurricular activity
trips are examples of ineligible miles. Miles traveled to rerun a route or part
of a route to transport students participating in before- or after-school
activities or training are also ineligible miles. All ineligible miles shall be
recorded and subsequently reported on the application for state transportation
aid.
3. School bus route. A bus
route begins when a bus leaves a point (home, school, and the like) empty and
proceeds on a predetermined route, picking up pupils and then traveling to a
school(s) until the bus is empty; and returning the pupils to a designated
point after school. If more than one (1) route is run by the same bus, each
additional route begins when the bus is empty after discharging all the pupils
from a previous route and proceeds along another predetermined route, picking
up pupils and discharging all of them at their attendance center(s) and
returning them home.
(B)
Procedures. Public school districts must adopt a policy implementing school bus
route approval procedures for the annual approval of the routes needed for safe
and cost efficient pupil transportation service which meets and may exceed the
state board's minimum requirements as described in this subsection.
1. Criteria for determining routes:
A. Location of pupil's residence;
B. Grade and age of the pupils to be
transported;
C. Type and condition
of roads;
D. Standard of service
desired; and
E. Funds available for
transportation service.
2. Safety considerations for establishing
school bus routes:
A. The general safety of
all routes in relation to hazards such as hills, intersections, railroad
crossings, bridges, sharp curves, and obstructions to visibility;
B. The general safety of loading and
unloading stops in relation to the visibility of approaching
motorists;
C. Walking distance to
the bus stop in relation to the age of the pupil; and
D. Walking route safety to loading stop, from
unloading stop, and loading zones.
3. Administrative policy shall be adopted by
the public school district board of education which describes the criteria,
safety considerations, and routing standards school officials must use when
establishing or modifying school bus routes. Examples of administrative policy
components include, but are not limited to:
A.
Duplication of route miles and "deadheading" shall be avoided if at all
possible;
B. School bus stops
should be established no less than five hundred feet (500') apart;
C. Multiple routes by a single school bus
should be used when possible;
D.
Routes should be planned to avoid dead-end streets or cul-de-sacs whenever
possible;
E. Assign pupils to
school buses so that passenger loads do not exceed manufacturer vehicle
passenger capacity and to avoid overloading;
F. All school buses should be loaded as near
their capacity as possible;
G.
Buses should be used primarily to transport pupils to and from school. Buses
may be used to transport pupils on school-sponsored activity trips, but such
trips should not interfere with the transportation of pupils to and from
school;
H. Each school district
shall keep on file an up-to-date map showing the location and length of each
school bus route;
I. Bus routing
and seating plans shall be coordinated so that there are no standees and every
passenger is provided a seat. The seating space provided each passenger must be
sufficient to ensure that the back of each passenger may come into full contact
with the seat back;
J. All vehicles
used to transport pupils shall comply with the requirements of the law and with
standards and safety rules as adopted by the board; and
K. School bus inspections shall not be made
more than sixty (60) days prior to operating the vehicles during the school
year.
4. School districts
which transport nonresident pupils not legally assigned or through an
interdistrict contract shall not claim any additional miles as eligible miles
and the pupils shall be reported as ineligible pupils.
A. High school pupils from elementary school
districts. High school pupils residing in an elementary school district are to
be claimed only by the elementary district. The elementary district shall claim
mileage from where the bus enters the elementary district, including miles
traveled within the elementary district and the most direct route to the school
of attendance.
Notes
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