Source: https://www.isd477.org/district/policies/700-business-operations/709
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 12:31:14+00:00

Document:
The school district may designate a school bus safety week. The National School Bus Safety Week is the third week in October.
2. All students in grades Pre K through 6 who are transported by school bus and are enrolled during the first or second week of school must receive the school bus safety training by the end of the third week of school. All students in grades 7 through 10 who are transported by school bus and are enrolled during the first or second week of school must receive the school bus safety training or receive bus safety instruction materials by the end of the sixth week of school, if they have not previously received school bus training. Students in grades Pre K through 10 who enroll in a school after the second week of school, are transported by school bus, and have not received training in their previous school districts shall undergo school bus safety training or receive bus safety instructional materials within 4 weeks of their first day of attendance.
3. The school district and a nonpublic school with students transported by school bus at public expense must provide students enrolled in grades Pre K through 3 school bus safety training twice during the school year.
8. The school district may provide student safety education for bicycling and pedestrian safety for students in grades Pre K through 5.
10.Nonpublic school students transported by the school district will receive school bus safety training by their nonpublic school. The nonpublic schools may use the school district’s school transportation safety education curriculum. Upon request by the school district superintendent, the nonpublic school must certify to the school district’s school transportation safety director that all students enrolled in grades Pre K through 10 have received the appropriate training.
A. Riding the school bus is a privilege, not a right. The school district’s general student behavior rules are in effect for all students on school buses, including nonpublic and charter school students.
The school district school bus safety rules are to be posted on every bus. If these rules are broken, the school district’s discipline procedures are to be followed. In most circumstances, consequences are progressive and may include suspension of bus privileges. It is the school bus driver’s responsibility to report unacceptable behavior to the school district’s Transportation Office/School Office.
a. Get to your bus stop 5 minutes before your scheduled pick up time. The school bus driver will not wait for late students.
c. Keep your arms, legs, and belongings to yourself.
i. No fighting, harassment, intimidation, or horseplay.
j. No use of alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes or drugs.
f. No fighting, harassment, intimidation, or horseplay.
h. No eating, drinking, or use of alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes or drugs.
Consequences for school bus/bus stop misconduct will apply to all regular and late routes. Decisions regarding a student’s ability to ride the bus in connection with co-curricular and extracurricular events (for example, field trips or competitions) will be in the sole discretion of the school district. Parents or guardians will be notified of any suspension of bus privileges.
The administration will develop procedures for appropriate education and consequences for students at the bus stop and riding the bus.
Based on the severity of a student’s conduct, more serious consequences may be imposed at any time.
Depending on the nature of the offense, consequences such as suspension or expulsion from school also may result from school bus/bus stop misconduct.
A. Parent and Guardian Notification - The school district school bus and bus stop rules will be provided to each family. Parents and guardians are asked to review the rules with their children.
All new school bus drivers shall be provided with pre-service training, including in-vehicle (actual driving) instruction, before transporting students and shall meet the competency testing specified in the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Model School Bus Driver Training Manual. All school bus drivers shall receive in-service training annually. For purposes of this section, “annually” means at least once every 380 days from the initial or previous evaluation and at least once every 380 days from the initial or previous license verification. The school district shall retain on file an annual individual school bus driver “evaluation certification” form for each school district driver as contained in the Model School Bus Driver Training Manual.
All bus drivers operating a type III vehicle will be provided with annual training and certification as set forth in Section VII.C.1.b., below, by either the school district or the entity from whom such services are contracted by the school district.
Safely load and unload students.
1. Type III vehicles are restricted to passenger cars, station wagons, vans, and buses having a maximum manufacturer’s rated seating capacity of 10 or fewer people including the driver and a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less. A van or bus converted to a seating capacity of 10 or fewer and placed in service on or after August 1, 1999, must have been originally manufactured to comply with the passenger safety standards.
i. Fire extinguisher. A minimum of one 10BC rated dry chemical type fire extinguisher is required. The extinguisher must be mounted in a bracket, and must be located in the driver’s compartment and be readily accessible to the driver and passengers. A pressure indicator is required and must be easily read without removing the extinguisher from its mounted position.
ii. First aid kit and body fluids cleanup kit. A minimum of a 10-unit first aid kit and a body fluids cleanup kit is required. They must be contained in removable, moisture- and dust-proof containers mounted in an accessible place within the driver’s compartment and must be marked to indicate their identity and location.
iii. Passenger cars and station wagons may carry a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit, and warning triangles in the trunk or trunk area of the vehicle if a label in the driver and front passenger area clearly indicates the location of these items.
9) compliance with paragraph V.F. concerning reporting convictions to the employer within 10 days of the date of conviction.
c. A background check or background investigation of the operator has been conducted that meets the requirements under Minn. Stat. § 122A.18, Subd. 8, or Minn. Stat. § 123B.03 for school district employees; Minn. Stat. § 144.057 or Minn. Stat. Ch. 245C for day care employees; or Minn. Stat. § 171.321, Subd. 3, for all other persons operating a type III vehicle under this section.
d. Operators shall submit to a physical examination as required by Minn. Stat. § 171.321, Subd. 2.
e. The operator’s employer requires pre employment drug testing of applicants for operator positions. Current operators must comply with the employer’s policy under Minn. Stat. § 181.951, Subds. 2, 4, and 5. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the operator’s employer may use a breathalyzer or similar device to fulfill random alcohol testing requirements.
g. A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under Minn. Stat. § 609.02, of violating Minn. Stat. § 169A.25, § 169A.26, § 169A.27 (driving while impaired offenses), or § 169A.31 (alcohol- related school bus driver offenses), or whose driver’s license is revoked under Minn. Stat. §§ 169A.50 to 169A.53 of the implied consent law, or who is convicted of violating or whose driver’s license is revoked under a similar statute or ordinance of another state, is precluded from operating a type III vehicle for 5 years from the date of conviction.
i. person who sustains a conviction, as defined under Minn. Stat. § 609.02, of a moving offense in violation of Minn. Stat. Ch. 169 within 3 years of the first of 3 other moving offenses is precluded from operating a type III vehicle for 1 year from the date of the last conviction.
k. Documentation of meeting the requirements listed in this section must be maintained under separate file at the business location for each type III vehicle operator. The school district or any other entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the type III vehicle operating under this section is responsible for maintaining these files for inspection.
e. The operator has a valid driver’s license and has not sustained a conviction of a disqualifying offense as set forth in Minn. Stat. § 171.02, Subd. 2a(h) - 2a(j).
f. The operator has been trained in the proper use of child safety restraints as set forth in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Guideline for the Safe Transportation of Preschool Age Children in School Buses,” if child safety restraints are used by passengers, in addition to the training required in Section VI., above.
A. If possible, school bus drivers or their supervisors shall call “911” or the local emergency phone number in the event of a serious emergency.
the names and telephone numbers of the student’s physician, parents, guardians, or custodians, and some person other than the student’s parents or custodians who can be contacted in case of an emergency.
B. All school vehicles shall be state inspected in accordance with legal requirements.
C. A copy of the current daily pre-trip inspection report must be carried in the bus. Daily pre-trip inspections shall be maintained on file in accordance with the school district’s record retention schedule. Prompt reports of defects to be immediately corrected will be submitted.

References: § 122
 § 123
 § 144
 § 171
 § 171
 § 181
 § 609
 § 169
 § 169
 § 169
 § 169
 § 609
 § 171