Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 5 - DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Division 30 - Division of Financial and Administrative Services › Chapter 261 - Pupil Transportation › Section 5 CSR 30-261.010 - Requirements for the Operation of School Buses

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE:
The State Board of Education has
				  the authority to adopt and enforce regulations for the operation of all school
				  buses used for the transportation of schoolchildren when owned and operated by
				  any school district or privately-owned and operated under contract with any
				  school district in this state. This rule establishes guidelines for the safe,
				  efficient, and economical operation of school buses.
(1) General Requirements for Approval of
				School Bus Transportation.
(A) All
				transportation of pupils furnished by a school district shall be authorized in
				accordance with the law.
(B) School
				bus routes over which school buses travel shall be approved by public school
				district board of education action no later than the end of October for its
				initial approval and no later than the end of June for the final approval of
				modifications made during the school year.
(C) All vehicles used for transporting pupils
				shall carry liability and property damage insurance.
(D) There shall be on file in the appropriate
				school district office copies of current contracts, bonds, driver's physical
				examination certificates, driver's license with applicable endorsements, and
				maps of school bus routes. Public school district boards of education shall
				require operators of school buses to conduct and prepare a record of the daily
				pretrip inspection for each school bus.
(E) Public school district boards of
				education shall provide for proper accounting of pupil transportation data and
				shall prepare and submit to the State Board of Education (board) necessary
				reports for apportioning state transportation aid and for statistical purposes.
1. A listing shall be made of pupils
				regularly transported on each board of education's approved routes on the
				second Wednesday of the month for the months of October and February.
2. The school district listing of pupils
				regularly transported by route must be signed and maintained by the
				superintendent of the schools or an appointed designee.
(F) No school district shall receive state
				transportation aid for any pupil transported in a vehicle or over a school bus
				route which has not been approved by the public school district board of
				education or for any pupil transported in a vehicle whose driver does not meet
				the school bus driver qualifications as stated in section (2) of this
				rule.
(G) If a lock is to be placed
				on an emergency exit of a school bus, it shall be designed in a manner so that
				the engine cannot be started with the emergency exit locked.
(H) Public school district boards of
				education shall forbid drivers to pull any type of trailer behind a school
				bus.
(I) Only those signs and
				lettering allowed by law or rule shall be written on or attached to a school
				bus, except for safety-related signs or lettering which, if used, shall be
				placed on the rear of the bus, in no way obstructing the driver's view. An
				exception to the requirement of this subsection concerning rules may be granted
				by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
(J) Emergency evacuation drills on school
				buses shall be required for all students in grades kindergarten through six
				(K-6) at least once per semester. The first drill must be completed annually
				prior to October 31. The public school district board of education shall
				prescribe emergency evacuation drill requirements for all other
				students.
(K) Boards of education
				shall require operators of school buses to conduct and prepare a record of the
				daily pretrip inspection for each school bus.