South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 43 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Article 5 - TRANSPORTATION REGULATIONS › Section 43-80 - Operation of Public Student Transportation Services

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
I. The school district board of trustees (Board of Trustees) shall be responsible to the State Board of Education (SBE) for the supervision of the school transportation program in the district. This shall include the recruitment of school bus drivers, employment and dismissal of school bus drivers, supervision of school bus drivers and the students being transported, proposed routing of buses, accurate transportation records as to mileage, number of students transported pursuant to Section 59-67-100, driver's time reports, school bus safety, and enforcing all other transportation regulations. The recruitment and employment of school bus drivers and supervisory personnel is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. The transportation of students is an integral and essential part of the school program, and teachers and administrative personnel shall be assigned to school bus duties in the interest of the transportation program.
II. Transportation on regular school bus routes is authorized for public school students. Public school students include three-year to five-year old students who are disabled, kindergarten students in half-day programs, and the K-12 regularly enrolled students during the 180-day school year. Three- and four-year old students attending public school-sponsored kindergarten or child development programs must be permitted to ride state-owned buses to the extent funds are made available by the General Assembly. Special programs operated and/or sponsored by the governing body of the school district may use school buses as long as transportation services are paid for by the school district at no cost to the State and do not disrupt school bus maintenance servicing or regular school bus routes. A special program is any education or other program sponsored by the school district that is not a program required by State statute or regulation to be operated by the school district. A student with a disability shall be transported on a bus staffed with an aide if the student's Individualized Education Program or accommodations plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (504 Plan) specifies.
A student in a Child Safety Restraint System, excluding standard seatbelts, must be transported on a bus with an aide. If an aide is not available for a bus transporting a student in a Child Safety Restraint System, the bus shall not run unless it would put the school district in violation of Federal and State statutes or regulations.
A student in a wheelchair shall be transported on a bus staffed with an aide or other qualified employee who shall operate the wheelchair lift.
Unless a Student's Individualized Education Program or 504 Plan specifies a 1:1 aide, an aide for a student with an Individualized Education Program or 504 Plan may count as an aide for the bus.
Assignment of buses for new routes will be made on the basis of actual need. Justification must be submitted showing that all buses presently assigned to the district or area are being used to the maximum before additional equipment can be assigned.
To enhance school bus routing effectiveness, kindergarten students shall be assigned to morning or afternoon sessions on the basis of where they live.
III. The State shall not be required to operate buses for high school, junior high school, middle school, and elementary school students separately. Approval of separate transportation will be given only when such transportation can be accomplished with the same number of buses and approximately the same mileage. The schedule of work and the opening and closing hours for all schools served by the same buses must be arranged so as to facilitate a maximum amount of school work and at the same time permit the operation of a satisfactory and economical transportation program. School districts shall stagger school opening times when feasible to maximize the use of the school bus transportation system.
IV. Five-year-old through grade 12 public school students who have temporary physical handicaps or have a chronic disorder of lengthy duration may have their parents or guardians apply for these students to receive special school bus transportation services. The application process is as follows:
A. Secure appropriate forms for the District Superintendent.
B. Have the student examined by a licensed medical doctor and receive a written statement from the licensed medical doctor to the effect that without special school bus transportation service, unusual hardship will be experienced by the student in walking the required distance to the regular route.
C. Submit the statement from the licensed medical doctor to the District Superintendent for approval.
D. The District Superintendent shall submit the health statement with a Request For Special School Bus Transportation Service approval to the local representative of the South Carolina Department of Education (Department). Approval by the Department shall be required before a change in a school bus route for this purpose becomes official.
E. Approval for such a change in school bus routes shall terminate at the time the student no longer qualifies for special school bus transportation service, or when the student for whom the service was intended has moved residences.