1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to pupil transportation; modifying qualifications for type III school bus 
1.3 	drivers; amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 171.02, subdivision 2b.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 171.02, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:
1.6 		Subd. 2b.Exception for type III vehicle drivers. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision 
1.7 	2, ~~paragraph (c),~~ the holder of a class A, B, C, or D driver's license, without a school bus 
1.8 	endorsement, may operate a type III vehicle described in section 169.011, subdivision 71, 
1.9 	clause (5), under the conditions in paragraphs (b) through ~~(n)~~ (o).
1.10 	(b) The operator is an employee of the entity that owns, leases, or contracts for 
1.11 	the school bus.
1.12 	(c) The operator's employer has adopted and implemented a policy that provides for 
1.13 	annual training and certification of the operator in:
1.14 	(1) safe operation of a type III vehicle;
1.15 	(2) understanding student behavior, including issues relating to students with 
1.16 	disabilities;
1.17 	(3) encouraging orderly conduct of students on the bus and handling incidents of 
1.18 	misconduct appropriately;
1.19 	(4) knowing and understanding relevant laws, rules of the road, and local school 
1.20 	bus safety policies;
1.21 	(5) handling emergency situations;
1.22 	(6) proper use of seat belts and child safety restraints;
1.23 	(7) performance of pretrip vehicle inspections; ~~and~~
1.24 	(8) safe loading and unloading of students, including, but not limited to:
2.1 	(i) utilizing a safe location for loading and unloading students at the curb, on the 
2.2 	nontraffic side of the roadway, or at off-street loading areas, driveways, yards, and other 
2.3 	areas to enable the student to avoid hazardous conditions;
2.4 	(ii) refraining from loading and unloading students in a vehicular traffic lane, on the 
2.5 	shoulder, in a designated turn lane, or a lane adjacent to a designated turn lane;
2.6 	(iii) avoiding a loading or unloading location that would require a pupil to cross a 
2.7 	road, or ensuring that the driver or an aide personally escort the pupil across the road if 
2.8 	it is not reasonably feasible to avoid such a location; and
2.9 	(iv) placing the type III vehicle in "park" during loading and unloading; and
2.10 	(9) compliance with paragraph (k), concerning reporting certain convictions to the 
2.11 	employer within ten days of the date of conviction.
2.12 	(d) A background check or background investigation of the operator has been 
2.13 	conducted that meets the requirements under section 122A.18, subdivision 8, or 123B.03 
2.14 	for school district employees; section 144.057 or chapter 245C for day care employees; 
2.15 	or section 171.321, subdivision 3, for all other persons operating a type A or type III 
2.16 	vehicle under this subdivision.
2.17 	(e) Operators shall submit to a physical examination as required by section 171.321, 
2.18 	subdivision 2.
2.19 	(f) The operator's employer ~~has adopted and implemented a policy that provides for~~ 
2.20 	~~mandatory~~requires preemployment drug and alcohol testing of applicants for operator 
2.21 	positions ~~and~~. Current operators~~, in accordance~~ must comply  with the employer's policy 
2.22 	under  section 181.951, subdivisions 2, 4, and 5.
2.23 	(g) The operator's driver's license is verified annually by the entity that owns, leases, 
2.24 	or contracts for the school bus.
2.25 	(h) A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under section 609.02, of violating 
2.26 	section 169A.25, 169A.26, 169A.27, or 169A.31, or whose driver's license is revoked 
2.27 	under sections 169A.50 to 169A.53 of the implied consent law, or who is convicted of 
2.28 	violating or ~~has their~~whose driver's license is revoked under a similar statute or ordinance 
2.29 	of another state, is precluded from operating a type III vehicle for five years from the 
2.30 	date of conviction.
2.31 	(i) A person who has ever been convicted of a disqualifying offense as defined in 
2.32 	section 171.3215, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), may not operate a type III vehicle under 
2.33 	this subdivision.
2.34 	(j) A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under section 609.02, of a moving 
2.35 	offense in violation of chapter 169 within three years of the first of three other moving 
3.1 	offenses is precluded from operating a type III vehicle for one year from the date of 
3.2 	the last conviction.
3.3 	(k) An operator who sustains a conviction as described in paragraph (h), (i), or (j) 
3.4 	while employed by the entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the school bus, shall report 
3.5 	the conviction to the employer within ten days of the date of the conviction.
3.6 	(l) Students riding the type III vehicle must have training required under section 
3.7 	123B.90, subdivision 2.
3.8 	(m) Documentation of meeting the requirements listed in this subdivision must be 
3.9 	maintained under separate file at the business location for each type III vehicle operator. 
3.10 	The business manager, school board, governing body of a nonpublic school, or any 
3.11 	other entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the type III vehicle operating under this 
3.12 	subdivision is responsible for maintaining these files for inspection.
3.13 	(n) The type III vehicle must bear a current certificate of inspection issued under 
3.14 	section 169.451.
3.15 	(o) ~~An operator employed by a school or school district, whose normal duties do not~~ 
3.16 	~~include operating a type III vehicle, who holds a class D driver's license without a school~~ 
3.17 	~~bus endorsement, may operate a type III vehicle and is exempt from paragraphs (d), (e),~~ 
3.18 	~~(f), (g), and (k)~~ An employee of a school or of a school district, who is not employed for 
3.19 	the sole purpose of operating a type III vehicle, is exempt from paragraphs (e) and (f).

3.20 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.