LAC 28:CXIII.1505. Routes: Filling Vacancies

A. When filling school bus route vacancies for LEA-owned school buses, the procedures as outlined in R.S. 17:493.1 must be followed. 1. The opportunity to change from the current assigned route to the vacant route must be offered, by mail to his/her residence, to tenured school bus operators in the order of seniority. 2. If no tenured operator chooses to change to the vacant route, the route shall be offered to a full-time probationary bus operator. 3. If no tenured or probationary operator chooses to change to the vacant route, a substitute bus operator shall be selected from a list of approved substitute school bus operators. B. When filling school bus route vacancies for contracted owner-operator school buses, procedures for new owner-operator acquisition of the school bus are stipulated in R.S. 17:493.1. 1. The vacated route shall be offered first to any person meeting the requirements of the LEA who is willing to acquire the bus of the retiring operator. 2. The acquisition of the school bus by the new owner-operator must guarantee that the retiring owner-operator driver received full appraised value for the bus using regularly accepted appraisal methods to determine fair market value. 3. These requirements are applicable only when the bus owned by the retiring operator has been manufactured within a period of five years immediately prior to the operator’s retirement and the operator is retiring due to a documented physical disability.