I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1884

To provide for school bus safety, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 16, 1995

Mr. TRAFICANT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Economic and Educational Opportunities and the Judiciary,

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the

committee concerned

A BILL

To provide for school bus safety, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Bus Safety

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

8 (1) BUS.—The term ‘‘bus’’ means a motor vehi9 cle with motive power, except a trailer, designed for

10 carrying more than 10 persons.
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1 (2) SCHOOL BUS.—The term ‘‘school bus’’

2 means a bus that is used for purposes that include

3 carrying pupils to and from public or private school

4 or school-related events on a regular basis.

5 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

6 the Secretary of Transportation.

7 SEC. 3. PROFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR SCHOOL BUS

8 DRIVERS.

9 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pre11 scribe proficiency standards for school bus drivers who are

12 required to possess a commercial driver’s license to oper13 ate a school bus.

14 (b) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN STATES.—In prescrib15 ing proficiency standards under subsection (a), the Sec16 retary shall provide that a State may, instead of utilizing

17 such proficiency standards, utilize proficiency standards

18 established by the State before the date of the prescription

19 of efficiency standards under subsection (a) if the Sec20 retary determines that the standards of the State establish

21 proficiency requirements as rigorous as the proficiency re22 quirements established under the standards prescribed

23 under subsection (a).

24 (c) DEMONSTRATION OF PROFICIENCY.—Upon the

25 prescription of standards under subsection (a), each school
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1 bus driver referred to in subsection (a) shall demonstrate

2 (at such interval as the Secretary shall prescribe) to the

3 employer of the driver, the school district, the State licens4 ing agency, or other person or agency responsible for regu5 lating school bus drivers the proficiency of such driver in

6 operating a school bus in accordance with the proficiency

7 standards prescribed under subsection (a) or the pro8 ficiency standards established by the State concerned, as

9 the case may be.

10 SEC. 4. GUIDELINES FOR SAFE TRANSPORTATION OF CHIL11 DREN BY SCHOOL BUS.

12 The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic

13 Safety Administration shall develop and disseminate

14 guidelines on the safe transportation in school buses of

15 children under the age of 5. Such guidelines shall include

16 recommendations for the evacuation of such children from

17 such buses in the event of an emergency.

18 SEC. 5. IMPROVED INTERSTATE SCHOOL BUS SAFETY.

19 (a) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER

20 SAFETY REGULATIONS TO INTERSTATE SCHOOL BUS OP21 ERATIONS.—Section 31136 of title 49, United States

22 Code, is amended—

23 (1) by striking the second sentence of sub24 section (e); and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section:

3 ‘‘(g) APPLICABILITY TO SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION

4 OPERATIONS OF LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES.—Not

5 later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of

6 this subsection, the Secretary shall issue regulations mak7 ing the relevant commercial motor carrier safety regula8 tions issued under subsection (a) applicable to all inter9 state school transportation operations by local educational

10 agencies (as defined in section 14101 of the Elementary

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965).’’.

12 (b) EDUCATION PROGRAM.—Not later than 6 months

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary

14 shall develop and implement an education program in15 forming all local educational agencies (as defined in sec16 tion 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

17 Act of 1965) that they must comply with the Federal com18 mercial motor vehicle safety regulations issued under sec19 tion 31136 of title 49, United States Code, when providing

20 interstate transportation on a school bus vehicle to and

21 from school-sanctioned and school-related activities.

22 (c) COMPLIANCE REPORTS.—Each year for the first

23 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

24 Secretary shall submit to Congress by June 1 a report

25 describing in detail the status of compliance by private
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1 motor carriers (for-hire) and local educational agencies in

2 meeting the requirements of section 31136 of title 49,

3 United States Code, and enforcement actions undertaken

4 by the Department of Transportation.

5 SEC. 6. DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLIGENT VEHICLE-HIGH6 WAY SYSTEMS FOR SCHOOL BUS SAFETY.

7 Section 6055(d) of the Intelligent Vehicle-Highway

8 Systems Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 307 note) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

10 (2);

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following new

14 paragraph:

15 ‘‘(4) ensure that one or more operational tests

16 advance the use and reduce the cost of intelligent ve17 hicle-highway system technologies (including hazard

18 warning systems or sensors) that alert school bus

19 drivers of pedestrians or vehicles in, or approaching,

20 the path of the school bus.’’.

21 SEC. 7. TRAFFIC ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE

22 SCHOOL BUS SAFETY.

23 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec24 retary shall ensure that each State receiving aid to con25 duct highway safety programs under section 402(c) of title
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1 23, United States Code, shall utilize a portion (as deter2 mined by the Secretary) of such aid for the purpose of

3 conducting traffic engineering activities in order to im4 prove the safe operation of school buses. The Secretary

5 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the

6 total amount utilized by such States for such purpose in

7 any fiscal year shall not be less than $1,000,000.

8 SEC. 8. DETERMINATION OF PRACTICABILITY AND FEA9 SIBILITY OF CERTAIN SAFETY AND ACCESS

10 REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL BUSES.

11 (a) COMMENCEMENT OF RULEMAKING PROCESS.—

12 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment

13 of this Act, the Secretary shall begin a rulemaking process

14 to determine the feasibility and practicability of the follow15 ing:

16 (1) A requirement for a decrease in the flam17 mability of the materials used in the construction of

18 the interiors of school buses.

19 (2) A requirement that individuals, school dis20 tricts, or companies that sell in the secondary mar21 ket school buses that may be used in interstate com22 merce inform purchasers of such buses that such

23 buses may not meet current National Highway

24 Transportation Safety Administration standards or
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1 Federal Highway Administration standards with re2 spect to such buses.

3 (3) The establishment of construction, design,

4 and securement standards for wheelchairs used in

5 the transportation of students in school buses.

6 (b) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 2 years after the

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pro8 mulgate a final rule providing for any requirement or

9 standard referred to in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of sub10 section (a) that the Secretary determines to be feasible

11 and practicable.

12 SEC. 9. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON SCHOOL BUS

13 SAFETY.

14 (a) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—In carrying

15 out research on highway safety under section 403 of title

16 23, United States Code, the Secretary, in consultation

17 with the American Automobile Association, State edu18 cational agencies, the National Safety Council, and high19 way safety organizations, shall—

20 (1) improve existing materials on school bus

21 safety; and

22 (2) improve the distribution and availability of

23 such materials to schools for use by the student

24 safety patrols of such schools and to appropriate law

25 enforcement agencies.
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1 (b) FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

2 law, of the funds available to the Secretary for research

3 on highway safety and traffic conditions under such sec4 tion 403 in each of fiscal years 1995 through 2000,

5 $100,000 shall be available in each such fiscal year for

6 the purposes of carrying out this section.

7 SEC. 10. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS OF SCHOOL BUS

8 DRIVERS.

9 (a) PROHIBITION ON EMPLOYMENT PENDING

10 CHECK.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law and

11 except as provided in subsection (b), a local educational

12 agency, and any contractor providing school transpor13 tation services to such an agency, may not newly employ

14 a person as a driver of a school bus of or on behalf of

15 the agency before the completion of a background check

16 of the person in the national criminal history background

17 check system. The purpose of the check is to determine

18 whether the person has been convicted of a crime which

19 would warrant barring the person from duties as a driver

20 of a school bus.

21 (b) EXCEPTION.—A local educational agency or a

22 contractor may newly employ a person as a driver of a

23 school bus of or on behalf of the agency if a check of the

24 person is not completed by the end of the 21-day period

25 beginning on the date of the request for the check by the
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1 agency. The agency or contractor may commence such em2 ployment beginning at the end of such 21-day period.

3 (c) CHECK PROCEDURES.—Each State shall establish

4 procedures for conducting checks under this section. Such

5 procedures shall include the designation of an agency of

6 the State to carry out the checks and shall meet the guide7 lines set forth in section 3(b) of the National Child Protec8 tion Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 5119a(b)).

9 (d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A local educational

10 agency or a contractor providing transportation services

11 to such an agency shall not be liable in an action for dam12 ages on the basis of a criminal conviction of a person em13 ployed by the agency or contractor as a school bus driver

14 if—

15 (1) a check of the person was conducted under

16 this section; and

17 (2) the conviction was not disclosed to the agen18 cy or contractor pursuant to the check.

19 (e) FEES.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Bureau of In21 vestigation may impose and collect fees for the pro22 vision of assistance in the conduct of checks under

23 this section. The amount of such fees may not ex24 ceed the actual cost to the Federal Bureau of Inves25 tigation of providing such assistance.
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1 (2) MONITORING.—The Attorney General shall

2 monitor the collection of fees under this subsection

3 for purposes of ensuring that—

4 (A) such fees are collected on a uniform

5 basis; and

6 (B) the amounts collected reflect only the

7 actual cost to the Federal Bureau of Investiga8 tion of providing assistance in the conduct of

9 background checks.

10 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi11 nitions apply:

12 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term

13 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given

14 such term in section 14101 of the Elementary and

15 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

16 (2) NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY BACK17 GROUND CHECK SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘national

18 criminal history background check system’’ has the

19 meaning given such term in section 5(6) of the Na20 tional Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.

21 5119c(6)).

22 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

23 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the

24 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

25 (g) APPLICABILITY.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), this section shall apply to the new em3 ployment of persons by local educational agencies or

4 contractors beginning on the later of—

5 (A) the date that is 60 days after the date

6 of the enactment of this Act; or

7 (B) the date on which the State in which

8 the agencies or contractors are located estab9 lishes the procedures required under subsection

10 (c).

11 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—During the period beginning

12 on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending

13 on the date of the applicability of this section to a

14 local educational agency or contractor under para15 graph (1), the local educational agency or contractor

16 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, request

17 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation conduct a

18 background check with fingerprints of each person

19 newly employed by the local educational agency or

20 contractor as a school bus driver of or on behalf of

21 the local educational agency.

22 (h) FUNDING.—

23 (1) VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS.—Sec24 tion 4116(b)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7116(b)(5)) is
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1 amended by striking ‘‘and neighborhood patrols’’

2 and inserting ‘‘neighborhood patrols, and criminal

3 background checks of potential drivers of school

4 buses under section 5 of the School Bus Safety

5 Act.’’.

6 (2) INNOVATIVE EDUCATION ASSISTANCE.—

7 Section 6301(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7351(b)) is

8 amended—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para10 graph (7);

11 (B) by striking the period at the end of

12 paragraph (8) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

13 (C) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(9) the carrying out of criminal background

15 checks of potential drivers of school buses under sec16 tion 4 of the School Bus Safety Act.’’.

17 SEC. 11. STUDY AND REPORT ON SCHOOL BUS SAFETY.

18 (a) STUDY.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry

20 out a study to determine the following:

21 (A) The usage of seat belts on school

22 buses.

23 (B) The extent to which public transit ve24 hicles are engaged in school bus operations.
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1 (C) The point at which a public transit ve2 hicle is sufficiently engaged in such operations

3 as to be considered a school bus for purposes of

4 regulation under Federal law.

5 (D) The differences between school bus op6 erations carried out directly by schools or school

7 districts and school bus operations carried out

8 by schools or school districts by contract.

9 (2) AREAS.—The study shall address the dif10 ferences between the services and operations referred

11 to in paragraph (1)(D) in terms of—

12 (A) crash injury data;

13 (B) driver and carrier requirements;

14 (C) passenger transportation requirements;

15 (D) bus construction and design standards;

16 (E) Federal and State operating assistance

17 (per passenger/per mile/per hour);

18 (F) total operating costs;

19 (G) Federal and State capital assistance

20 (per passenger/per mile/per hour);

21 (H) total capital costs; and

22 (I) such other factors as the Secretary con23 siders appropriate.

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit
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1 a report on the results of the study carried out under sub2 section (a) the following:

3 (1) The Committee on Environment and Public

4 Works of the Senate.

5 (2) The Committee on Commerce, Science, and

6 Transportation of the Senate.

7 (3) The Committee on Appropriations of the

8 Senate.

9 (4) The Committee on Transportation and In10 frastructure of the House of Representatives.

11 (5) The Committee on Commerce of the House

12 of Representatives.

13 (6) The Committee on Appropriations of the

14 House of Representatives.

15 SEC. 12. ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM REPORTING CRI16 TERIA FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY PROGRAM ON

17 TRAFFIC-RELATED DEATHS AND INJURIES.

18 The Secretary of Transportation shall—

19 (1) not later than December 31, 1995, issue a

20 notice of proposed rulemaking with respect to the

21 minimum reporting criteria required under the tenth

22 sentence of section 402(a) of title 23, United States

23 Code; and
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1 (2) not later than December 31, 1996, and

2 after an opportunity for public comment, issue a

3 final rule establishing such criteria.

4 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

6 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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