HF 2561

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; modifying certain pupil 
  1.3             transportation requirements; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 2002, sections 169.01, subdivision 6; 
  1.5             169.442, subdivisions 1, 5; 169.443, subdivisions 1, 
  1.6             2; 169.4503, subdivision 16; Minnesota Statutes 2003 
  1.7             Supplement, sections 123B.90, subdivision 2; 123B.93; 
  1.8             171.321, subdivision 5; repealing Minnesota Statutes 
  1.9             2002, section 169.4503, subdivision 21.  
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.12  123B.90, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 2.  [STUDENT TRAINING.] (a) Each district must 
  1.14  provide public school pupils enrolled in kindergarten through 
  1.15  grade 10 with age-appropriate school bus safety training, as 
  1.16  described in this section, of the following concepts: 
  1.17     (1) transportation by school bus is a privilege and not a 
  1.18  right; 
  1.19     (2) district policies for student conduct and school bus 
  1.20  safety; 
  1.21     (3) appropriate conduct while on the school bus; 
  1.22     (4) the danger zones surrounding a school bus; 
  1.23     (5) procedures for safely boarding and leaving a school 
  1.24  bus; 
  1.25     (6) procedures for safe street or road crossing; and 
  1.26     (7) school bus evacuation. 
  1.27     (b) Each nonpublic school located within the district must 
  2.1   provide all nonpublic school pupils enrolled in kindergarten 
  2.2   through grade 10 who are transported by school bus at public 
  2.3   expense and attend school within the district's boundaries with 
  2.4   training as required in paragraph (a).  
  2.5      (c) Students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 6 who 
  2.6   are transported by school bus and are enrolled during the first 
  2.7   or second week of school must receive the school bus safety 
  2.8   training competencies by the end of the third week of school.  
  2.9   Students enrolled in grades 7 through 10 who are transported by 
  2.10  school bus and are enrolled during the first or second week of 
  2.11  school and have not previously received school bus safety 
  2.12  training in kindergarten through grade 6 must receive the 
  2.13  training or receive bus safety instructional materials by the 
  2.14  end of the sixth week of school.  Students taking driver's 
  2.15  training instructional classes and other students in grades 9 
  2.16  and 10 must receive training in the laws and proper procedures 
  2.17  when operating a motor vehicle in the vicinity of a school bus.  
  2.18  Students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 10 who enroll in 
  2.19  a school after the second week of school and are transported by 
  2.20  school bus and have not received training in their previous 
  2.21  school district shall undergo school bus safety training or 
  2.22  receive bus safety instructional materials within four weeks of 
  2.23  the first day of attendance.  The school transportation safety 
  2.24  director in each district must certify to the superintendent of 
  2.25  schools annually that all students transported by school bus 
  2.26  within the district have received the school bus safety training 
  2.27  according to this section.  The principal or other chief 
  2.28  administrator of each nonpublic school must certify annually to 
  2.29  the school transportation safety director of the district in 
  2.30  which the school is located that the school's students 
  2.31  transported by school bus at public expense have received 
  2.32  training according to this section.  
  2.33     (d) A district and a nonpublic school with students 
  2.34  transported by school bus at public expense may provide 
  2.35  kindergarten pupils with bus safety training before the first 
  2.36  day of school. 
  3.1      (e) A district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.2   transported by school bus at public expense may also provide 
  3.3   student safety education for bicycling and pedestrian safety, 
  3.4   for students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 5. 
  3.5      (f) A district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.6   transported by school bus at public expense must make reasonable 
  3.7   accommodations for the school bus safety training of pupils 
  3.8   known to speak English as a second language and pupils with 
  3.9   disabilities. 
  3.10     (g) The district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.11  transported by school bus at public expense must provide 
  3.12  students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 3 school bus 
  3.13  safety training twice during the school year.  
  3.14     (h) A district and a nonpublic school with students 
  3.15  transported by school bus at public expense must conduct a 
  3.16  school bus evacuation drill at least once during the school year.
  3.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  3.18  123B.93, is amended to read: 
  3.19     123B.93 [ADVERTISING ON INSIDE OF SCHOOL BUSES.] 
  3.20     (a) The commissioner, through a competitive process, A 
  3.21  local school district may contract with advertisers regarding 
  3.22  advertising on inside of school buses.  At a minimum, the 
  3.23  contract must prohibit advertising and advertising images that: 
  3.24     (1) solicit the sale of, or promote the use of, alcoholic 
  3.25  beverages and tobacco products; 
  3.26     (2) are discriminatory in nature or content; 
  3.27     (3) imply or declare an endorsement of the product or 
  3.28  service by the school district; 
  3.29     (4) contain obscene material; 
  3.30     (5) are false, misleading, or deceptive; or 
  3.31     (6) relate to an illegal activity or antisocial behavior. 
  3.32     (b) Advertisement must meet the following conditions: 
  3.33     (1) the advertising attached to the school bus does not 
  3.34  interfere with bus identification under section 169.441; and 
  3.35     (2) the bus with attached advertising meets the school bus 
  3.36  equipment standards under sections 169.4501 to 169.4504. 
  4.1      (c) All buses operated by school districts may be attached 
  4.2   with advertisements under the state contract.  All school 
  4.3   district contracts shall include a provision for advertisement.  
  4.4   Each school district shall be reimbursed by the advertiser for 
  4.5   all costs incurred by the district and its contractors for 
  4.6   supporting the advertising program, including, but not limited 
  4.7   to, retrofitting buses, storing advertising, attaching 
  4.8   advertising to the bus, and related maintenance. 
  4.9      (d) The commissioner shall hold harmless and indemnify each 
  4.10  district for all liabilities arising from the advertising 
  4.11  program.  Each district must tender defense of all such claims 
  4.12  to the commissioner within five days of receipt. 
  4.13     (e) All revenue from the contract shall be deposited in the 
  4.14  general fund. 
  4.15     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.01, 
  4.16  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  4.17     Subd. 6.  [SCHOOL BUS.] "School bus" means a motor vehicle 
  4.18  used to transport pupils to or from a school defined in section 
  4.19  120A.22, or to or from school-related activities, by the school 
  4.20  or a school district, or by someone under an agreement with the 
  4.21  school or a school district.  A school bus does not include a 
  4.22  motor vehicle transporting children to or from school for which 
  4.23  parents or guardians receive direct compensation from a school 
  4.24  district, a motor coach operating under charter carrier 
  4.25  authority, a transit bus providing services as defined in 
  4.26  section 174.22, subdivision 7, a multifunction school activity 
  4.27  bus as defined by federal motor vehicle safety standards, or a 
  4.28  vehicle otherwise qualifying as a type III vehicle under 
  4.29  paragraph (5), when the vehicle is properly registered and 
  4.30  insured and being driven by an employee or agent of a school 
  4.31  district for nonscheduled or nonregular transportation.  A 
  4.32  school bus may be type A, type B, type C, or type D, or type III 
  4.33  as follows:  
  4.34     (1) A "type A school bus" is a conversion or body 
  4.35  constructed upon a van-type or cutaway front section vehicle 
  4.36  with a left-side driver's door, designed for carrying more than 
  5.1   ten persons.  This definition includes two classifications:  
  5.2   type A-I, with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 10,000 
  5.3   pounds; and type A-II, with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. 
  5.4      (2) A "type B school bus" is a conversion or body 
  5.5   constructed and installed upon a van or front-section vehicle 
  5.6   chassis, or stripped chassis, with a gross vehicle weight rating 
  5.7   of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than ten 
  5.8   persons.  Part of the engine is beneath or behind the windshield 
  5.9   and beside the driver's seat.  The entrance door is behind the 
  5.10  front wheels. 
  5.11     (3) A "type C school bus" is a body installed upon a flat 
  5.12  back cowl chassis with a gross vehicle weight rating of more 
  5.13  than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than ten 
  5.14  persons.  All of the engine is in front of the windshield and 
  5.15  the entrance door is behind the front wheels.  A type C school 
  5.16  bus has a maximum length of 45 feet.  
  5.17     (4) A "type D school bus" is a body installed upon a 
  5.18  chassis, with the engine mounted in the front, midship or rear, 
  5.19  with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds, 
  5.20  designed for carrying more than ten persons.  The engine may be 
  5.21  behind the windshield and beside the driver's seat; it may be at 
  5.22  the rear of the bus, behind the rear wheels, or midship between 
  5.23  the front and rear axles.  The entrance door is ahead of the 
  5.24  front wheels.  A type D school bus has a maximum length of 45 
  5.25  feet.  
  5.26     (5) Type III school buses and type III Head Start buses are 
  5.27  restricted to passenger cars, station wagons, vans, and buses 
  5.28  having a maximum manufacturer's rated seating capacity of ten or 
  5.29  fewer people, including the driver, and a gross vehicle weight 
  5.30  rating of 10,000 pounds or less.  In this subdivision, "gross 
  5.31  vehicle weight rating" means the value specified by the 
  5.32  manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle.  A "type 
  5.33  III school bus" and "type III Head Start bus" must not be 
  5.34  outwardly equipped and identified as a type A, B, C, or D school 
  5.35  bus or type A, B, C, or D Head Start bus.  A van or bus 
  5.36  converted to a seating capacity of ten or fewer and placed in 
  6.1   service on or after August 1, 1999, must have been originally 
  6.2   manufactured to comply with the passenger safety standards. 
  6.3      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.442, 
  6.4   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  6.5      Subdivision 1.  [SIGNALS REQUIRED.] A type A, B, C, or D 
  6.6   school bus must be equipped with a at least one stop-signal arm, 
  6.7   prewarning flashing amber signals, and flashing red signals. 
  6.8      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.442, 
  6.9   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  6.10     Subd. 5.  [WHITE STROBE LAMPS ON CERTAIN BUSES TRANSPORTING 
  6.11  CHILDREN.] (a) Notwithstanding sections 169.55, subdivision 1; 
  6.12  169.57, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), or other law to the 
  6.13  contrary, a school bus that is subject to and complies with the 
  6.14  equipment requirements of subdivision 1 and section 169.441, 
  6.15  subdivision 1, or a Head Start bus that is not a type III bus 
  6.16  defined in section 169.01, subdivision 6, may be equipped with a 
  6.17  360-degree, flashing strobe lamp that emits a white light with a 
  6.18  flash rate of 60 to 120 flashes a minute.  The lamp may be used 
  6.19  only as provided in this subdivision.  
  6.20     (b) The strobe lamp must be of a double flash type 
  6.21  certified to the commissioner of public safety by the 
  6.22  manufacturer as being weatherproof and having a minimum 
  6.23  effective light output of 200 candelas as measured by the 
  6.24  Blondel-Rey formula.  The lamp must be permanently mounted on 
  6.25  the longitudinal centerline of the bus roof not less than two 
  6.26  feet nor more than seven feet forward of the rear roof edge.  It 
  6.27  must operate from a separate switch containing an indicator lamp 
  6.28  to show when the strobe lamp is in use.  
  6.29     (c) The strobe lamp may be lighted only when atmospheric 
  6.30  conditions or terrain restrict the visibility of school bus 
  6.31  lamps and signals or Head Start bus lamps and signals so as to 
  6.32  require use of the bright strobe lamp to alert motorists to the 
  6.33  presence of the school bus or Head Start bus.  A strobe lamp may 
  6.34  not be lighted unless the school bus or Head Start bus is 
  6.35  actually being used as a school bus or Head Start bus. 
  6.36     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.443, 
  7.1   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  7.2      Subdivision 1.  [USING BUS SIGNALS.] A driver of a school 
  7.3   bus shall activate the prewarning flashing amber signals of the 
  7.4   bus before stopping to load or unload school children.  The 
  7.5   driver shall activate and continuously operate the amber signals 
  7.6   for a distance of at least 100 feet before stopping in a speed 
  7.7   zone of 35 miles per hour or less and at least 300 feet before 
  7.8   stopping in a speed zone of more than 35 miles per hour.  On 
  7.9   stopping for this purpose, the driver shall extend the 
  7.10  stop-signal arm or arms and activate the flashing red signals.  
  7.11  The driver shall not retract the stop-signal arm or arms nor 
  7.12  extinguish the flashing red signals until loading or unloading 
  7.13  is completed, students are seated, and children who must cross 
  7.14  the roadway are safely across. 
  7.15     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.443, 
  7.16  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  7.17     Subd. 2.  [USE OF STOP-SIGNAL ARM.] (a) The stop-signal arm 
  7.18  or arms of a school bus must be used in conjunction with the 
  7.19  flashing red signals only when the school bus is stopped on a 
  7.20  street or highway to load or unload school children. 
  7.21     (b) A local authority, including the governing body of an 
  7.22  Indian tribe, may by ordinance require that a school bus 
  7.23  activate the stop-signal arm or arms and flashing red signals 
  7.24  while stopped to unload school children at a location other than 
  7.25  a location on a street or highway.  The ordinance must designate 
  7.26  each location where the requirement is imposed.  The requirement 
  7.27  is effective only if the local authority has erected signs at or 
  7.28  near the location to provide adequate notice that other vehicles 
  7.29  are required to obey section 169.444, subdivision 1, when those 
  7.30  signals are activated. 
  7.31     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.4503, 
  7.32  subdivision 16, is amended to read: 
  7.33     Subd. 16.  [LAMPS AND SIGNALS.] (a) Each school bus shall 
  7.34  be equipped with a system consisting of four red signal lamps 
  7.35  designed to conform to SAE Standard J887, and four amber signal 
  7.36  lamps designed to that standard, except for color, and except 
  8.1   that their candlepower must be at least 2-1/2 times that 
  8.2   specified for red turn-signal lamps.  Both red and amber signal 
  8.3   lamps must be installed in accordance with SAE Standard J887, 
  8.4   except that each amber signal lamp must be located near each red 
  8.5   signal lamp, at the same level, but closer to the centerline of 
  8.6   the bus.  The system must be wired so that the amber signal 
  8.7   lamps are activated only by hand operation, and if activated, 
  8.8   are automatically deactivated and the red signal lamps are 
  8.9   automatically activated when the bus entrance door is opened.  
  8.10  Signal lamps must flash alternately.  Each signal lamp must 
  8.11  flash not less than 60 nor more than 120 flashes per minute.  
  8.12  The "on" period must be long enough to permit filament to come 
  8.13  up to full brightness.  There must be a pilot lamp which goes on 
  8.14  when the respective amber or red system is activated.  The pilot 
  8.15  lamp must either go out or flash at an alternate rate in the 
  8.16  event the system is not functioning normally.  The signal lamp 
  8.17  system must include a closed control box.  The box must be as 
  8.18  small as practical, and must be easily dismounted or partially 
  8.19  disassembled to provide access for maintenance purposes.  The 
  8.20  control panel box shall be arranged such that the momentary 
  8.21  activating switch for the eight-lamp warning system shall be 
  8.22  located on the left, the red (or red and amber) pilot light 
  8.23  shall be located in the middle, and the eight-way master switch 
  8.24  shall be located on the right.  The control box must be securely 
  8.25  mounted to the right of the steering wheel, within easy 
  8.26  unobstructed reach of the driver.  Switches and pilot lamp must 
  8.27  be readily visible to the driver.  The activating switch may be 
  8.28  self-illuminated.  Other warning devices or lamp controls must 
  8.29  not be placed near the lamp control.  The stop arm shall extend 
  8.30  automatically whenever the service entrance door is opened and 
  8.31  the eight-way lights are activated. 
  8.32     (b) If installed, a white flashing strobe shall be of a 
  8.33  double flash type and have minimum effective light output of 200 
  8.34  candelas.  No roof hatch can be mounted behind the strobe light. 
  8.35     (c) Type B, C, and D buses shall have an amber clearance 
  8.36  lamp with a minimum of four candlepower mounted on the right 
  9.1   side of the body at approximately seat-level rub rail height 
  9.2   just to the rear of the service door and another one at 
  9.3   approximately opposite the driver's seat on the left side.  
  9.4   These lamps are to be connected to operate only with the regular 
  9.5   turn-signal lamps. 
  9.6      (d) All lamps on the exterior of the vehicle must conform 
  9.7   with and be installed as required by federal motor vehicle 
  9.8   safety standard number 108, Code of Federal Regulations, title 
  9.9   49, part 571. 
  9.10     (e) A type A, B, C, or D school bus manufactured for use in 
  9.11  Minnesota after December 31, 1994, may not be equipped with red 
  9.12  turn-signal lenses on the rear of the bus. 
  9.13     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  9.14  171.321, subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  9.15     Subd. 5.  [ANNUAL EVALUATION AND LICENSE VERIFICATION.] (a) 
  9.16  A school district, nonpublic school, or private contractor shall 
  9.17  provide in-service training annually to each school bus driver.  
  9.18     (b) A school district, nonpublic school, or private 
  9.19  contractor shall annually verify the validity of the driver's 
  9.20  license of each person employee who regularly transports 
  9.21  students for the district in a type A school bus, a type B 
  9.22  school bus, a type C school bus, or type D school bus, or 
  9.23  regularly transports students for the district in a type III 
  9.24  vehicle with the National Driver Register or with the Department 
  9.25  of Public Safety. 
  9.26     Sec. 10.  [REPEALER.] 
  9.27     Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.4503, subdivision 21, 
  9.28  is repealed.  
  9.29     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  9.30  following final enactment.