FILE:  ED

Cf:  EDCA, ED-R

 

STUDENT TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

 

 

The Washington Parish School Board shall provide to eligible students school transportation services which shall meet the objectives of safety, efficiency, adequacy, and economy.  Through the use of publicly and privately owned buses, the Board shall maintain a student transportation program that shall conform to or exceed minimum standards as set forth by pertinent statutes and the Louisiana Department of Education, as well as regulations established by the Supervisor of Transportation.  It shall be unlawful for the School Board to permit the transport at one time a number of children on a school bus that exceeds the number of seats available on that bus.

 

All vehicles, owned by either the school district or contract bus operators, shall carry evidence of insurance and be registered, marked, and equipped according to law.  Contract bus operators who purchase their own insurance shall be required to annually submit to the Supervisor of Transportation proof of proper and valid insurance coverage prior to any usage of the bus.  Should any coverage aspects or insurance policy provisions change during the year, the bus operator shall notify the Supervisor of Transportation immediately.

 

All buses and other vehicles used primarily for the transportation of students shall be inspected by the assigned operator and the Supervisor of Transportation on a regular basis. All school vehicles shall be inspected a minimum of twice a year, once during June, July or August and certified as safe prior to the beginning of the school session, and once during December, January, or February of each school year, by an approved Louisiana Motor Vehicle Inspection Station.  Buses fifteen (15) years of age or older shall be inspected more frequently than other buses to assure effectiveness of operation and safety of students.

 

All school buses used to transport students shall at all times be driven by operators, regular and substitute, possessing a valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL) with proper endorsements, and having completed state-required pre-service certification training, in accordance with provisions outlined in Bulletin 119, Louisiana School Transportation Specifications and Procedures, Louisiana Department of Education.  All school bus operators, including contract bus operators, shall be required to personally operate the school bus assigned or owned, except in the case of illness or emergency.  In such cases, a substitute shall be assigned by the Supervisor of Transportation.

 

BUS PURCHASES

 

It is the policy of the Washington Parish School Board that any used school bus purchased for use in the parish shall meet current statutory requirements for motor vehicles and shall meet Louisiana specifications for school buses that were in effect on the date the vehicle was manufactured.  All bus purchases shall require prior approval of the Board.

 

School buses used to transport students, including activity and backup buses, shall not be more than twenty-five (25) years old.  All replacement school buses, at the time they are acquired by the owner, shall be ten (10) or less model years old for veteran owners/operators and newly hired owners/operators.  The school district shall require a regular bus to be a minimum 26 feet, but the system will not pay the expense allowance on a bus larger than 33.9 feet, unless the route requires the larger bus.  The number of years shall be reckoned from the date of introduction of the model year.  Age restrictions shall also apply to buses purchased and used by individual schools, booster clubs, etc., for the purposes of transporting children to and from school and school-related activities and for use as spare buses.

 

At the time a school bus is placed into service, the Supervisor of Transportation shall designate the route mileage for that bus.  This mileage shall be frozen in order to guarantee the contract owner/operator cannot be penalized by a reduction of compensated mileage (except as may be requested by the owner/ operator) for a period of seven (7) years when a new bus is purchased or five (5) years when a used bus not more than five (5) model years old is purchased.

 

Additionally, when an operator is granted permission for bus body size (length of bus) to exceed present route requirements, the reimbursement shall remain on the scale presently being used and shall only be adjusted upward when the route census requires the larger bus body size.

 

When a new bus is purchased or the ownership of a bus is transferred, the operator shall assure that the bus is in compliance with all requirements contained in applicable laws and school district regulations.  All buses so purchased shall be required to satisfactorily pass all mandated inspections prior to any usage.

 

SUBSTITUTE OPERATORS

 

Substitute operators shall be required to sign in at the schools on the days they drive, mornings and/or afternoons, so that a permanent record of every day they drive shall be on file at the School Board office.  Under no circumstances will owners/operators pay substitute operators, as they must be paid through the payroll department of the School Board.  Any owner/operator who violates these regulations shall be dismissed with due process.

 

Revised:  May, 1992

Revised:  April, 1999

Revised:  September, 1992

Revised:  August, 1999

Revised:  November, 1992

Revised:  September, 2000

Revised:  November, 1993

Revised:  November, 2001

Revised:  November, 1995

Revised:  February, 2002

Revised:  April, 1996

Revised:  May, 2002

Revised:  October, 1996

Revised:  August, 2002

Revised:  October, 1997

Revised:  April, 2006

 

 

Ref:     La. Rev. Stat. Ann. ยงยง17:158, 17:158.1, 17:158.2, 17:158.3, 17:158.4, 17:158.5, 17:158.6, 17:159, 17:159.1, 17:159.2, 17:160, 17:161, 17:162, 17:163, 17:164, 17:165, 17:166, 17:492, 32:293, 32:378

Olive Morgan v. Livingston Parish School Board, First Circuit Court of Appeals, March 1991

Louisiana School Transportation Specifications and Procedures, Bulletin 119, Louisiana Department of Education

Board minutes, 4-9-92, 6-11-92, 8-13-92, 8-10-95, 12-14-95, 8-22-96, 1-14-99, 4-22-99, 7-22-99, 11-08-01, 5-09-02, 6-13-02, 6-15-06

 

Washington Parish School Board