Requirements for the Operation of School Buses

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 safetyrelated 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. (2) School Bus Driver Qualifications. (A) All school bus drivers shall be duly licensed in accordance with Missouri statutes and public school district board policy and— 1. Be in good physical and mental health; 2. Undergo a biennial physical examination by a medical examiner who is licensed, certified, and/or registered, in accordance with applicable Missouri laws and regulations, to perform physical examinations to determine whether they meet the requirements of section 302.272, RSMo, and present a signed physical examination certificate that they, in the medical examiner’s judgment, meet or exceed those requirements to the employer. The term medical examiner includes, but is not limited to, doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, and doctors of chiropractic. For new drivers, such statement shall be on file prior to the driver’s initial operation of a school bus. A school bus driver whose ability to safely operate a school bus has been impaired by a physical or mental injury or disease, as determined by the public school district board of education, must submit a release by the attending physician prior to resuming school bus operation; and 3. Undergo testing for drug and alcohol use/abuse, in compliance with laws. (3) Driver Operation. (A) A school bus driver shall: 1. Observe carefully all signs, signals, and rules of the road as provided by the Missouri Motor Vehicle Laws; 2. Follow these loading and unloading procedures: A. If school bus is equipped with a master switch, make sure the master switch is in the “on” position; B. Activate prewarning amber flashing lights at least five hundred feet (500') before a designated stop; C. When stopping for a designated stop, apply brakes hard enough to light up the brake lights so that vehicles behind the school bus will know it is slowing down; D. Pull as far to the right as practicable on the traveled portion of the roadway and at a location so that the school bus is visible for at least three hundred feet (300') in both directions or five hundred feet (500') if the speed limit is greater than sixty (60) miles per hour. Check all mirrors to see that traffic is clear and it is safe to stop; E. Approach waiting students with extreme care, paying attention to the surface on which the school bus will stop (dry, slippery, slopes right, rough ground, and the like). Bring the school bus to a complete stop so that the closest part of the school bus is not less than six feet (6') and not more than ten feet (10') from the closest student; F. Place the transmission in neutral and set the parking brake as needed; G. Deactivate the prewarning amber flashing lights and activate the red flashing warning lights and the stop arm when opening the service door after stopping; H. Check traffic in front and rear of the school bus before AND SECONDARY EDUCATION you give the students a hand signal that it is okay to cross the road. Drivers should train students not to approach the school bus until given a signal and to check traffic before crossing the roadway; I. Require students who must cross the roadway after leaving the bus or before boarding the bus to cross a minimum of ten feet (10') in front of the bus and only upon a signal given by the driver, monitor, or bus patrol when organized bus patrols are used; and J. Have students go directly to their seats. When students are seated, check traffic and close the front door to deactivate the red flashing warning lights and stop arm; 3. Perform and prepare written documentation of the daily pretrip inspection which is to be submitted to the transportation administrator. Pretrip inspection of vehicle shall include brakes, steering components, lights, signaling devices, emergency door, tires, and safety equipment, as a minimum. Any defects or deficiencies that may affect the safety of vehicle operation or result in mechanical breakdown shall be reported immediately in writing and driver shall not operate school bus until the defect or deficiency has been corrected; 4. Activate the prewarning amber flashing lights if a school bus stop must be made in close proximity to the crest of a hill or on curves with limited sight distance, approximately one hundred feet (100') before passing the crest so that vehicles following to the rear shall be made aware the bus is preparing to stop for the purpose of loading or unloading pupils; 5. Assume control of all children while they are being transported requiring respectable and orderly behavior from them. Particular attention should be given to the care and protection of the younger pupils. Any continued disorderly conduct should be reported to the proper school authorities; 6. Not back school bus on school grounds unless rear is guarded by school patrol or adult and driver is advised that the way is clear. Backing the bus at any time shall be avoided if at all possible; 7. Follow these procedures when a school bus is disabled: A. Stop the bus as far to the right as possible (on the shoulder, if available); B. Secure the bus, activate hazard/warning lights, and set parking brake; C. Keep children in bus. If location of the bus is unsafe, remove the children to a safer location; D. Place triangular reflectors a minimum of one hundred feet (100') in both the front and rear of the bus; E. Telephone, radio, or send capable student to call authorities, giving bus location and description of breakdown; and F. See that all pupils are delivered to their destinations; 8. Keep inside of vehicle clean and comfortable at all times; 9. Keep lettering and lights on front and rear of bus clean so that all markings are clearly visible; 10. Keep service door closed at all times when bus is in motion; 11. Not leave a loaded bus while motor is running; 12. Fill the fuel tank only when there are no children in the bus; 13. Not allow animals on the school bus except for seeing eye dogs or other specially trained animals necessary to furnish special education services for students with disabilities to comply with applicable state law and regulations; 14. Not allow weapons or explosive material on the school bus; 15. Not allow items on the school bus to protrude into or block the aisle or be left in the driver or emergency exit areas; 16. Make and promptly file all daily, weekly, and monthly reports which may be required; 17. Use seat belt whenever the bus is in motion; 18. Not drive any school bus for more than: A. Eight (8) consecutive hours. Hours will be consecutive unless the individual ceases operation of the vehicle for at least sixty (60) minutes; or B. An aggregate of twelve (12) hours in a twenty-four- (24-) hour period; 19. Illuminate headlights whenever students are being transported; 20. Not use tobacco products at any time in the school bus; and 21. Not operate a school bus while under the influence of intoxicants, narcotics, or drugs. (4) Public School District Route Approval. (A) General Definitions. 1. Eligible miles. Those actual regular school term and handicapped miles traveled from where the bus is kept at night until it returns to the same location after the pupils have been returned home, as long as it is used only to transport vocational students and K–12 pupils to and from school at the beginning and ending of the regular school day, are eligible for state transportation aid. 2. Ineligible miles. All actual miles that are driven for any purpose other than transporting K–12 students to or from school during the school term are ineligible for state transportation aid. Regular summer school routes, nonhandicapped early childhood routes, field trips, athletic trips, maintenance miles and other extracurricular activity trips are examples of ineligible miles. Miles traveled to rerun a route or part of a route to transport students participating in before- or after-school activities or training are also ineligible miles. All ineligible miles shall be recorded and subsequently reported on the application for state transportation aid. 3. School bus route. A bus route begins when a bus leaves a point (home, school, and the like) empty and proceeds on a predetermined route, picking up pupils and then traveling to a school(s) until the bus is empty; and returning the pupils to a designated point after school. If more than one (1) route is run by the same bus, each additional route begins when the bus is empty after discharging all the pupils from a previous route and proceeds along another predetermined route, picking up pupils and discharging all of them at their attendance center(s) and returning them home. (B) Procedures. Public school districts must adopt a policy implementing school bus route approval procedures for the annual approval of the routes needed for safe and cost efficient pupil transportation service which meets and may exceed the state board’s minimum requirements as described in this subsection. 1. Criteria for determining routes: A. Location of pupil’s residence; B. Grade and age of the pupils to be transported; C. Type and condition of roads; D. Standard of service desired; and E. Funds available for transportation service. 2. Safety considerations for establishing school bus routes: A. The general safety of all routes in relation to hazards such as hills, intersections, railroad crossings, bridges, sharp curves, and obstructions to visibility; B. The general safety of loading and unloading stops in relation to the visibility of approaching motorists; C. Walking distance to the bus stop in relation to the age of the pupil; and D. Walking route safety to loading stop, from unloading stop, and loading zones. 3. Administrative policy shall be adopted by the public school district board of education which describes the criteria, safety considerations, and routing standards school officials must use when establishing or modifying school bus routes. Examples of administrative policy components include, but are not limited to: A. Duplication of route miles and “deadheading” shall be avoided if at all possible; B. School bus stops should be established no less than five hundred feet (500') apart; C. Multiple routes by a single school bus should be used when possible; D. Routes should be planned to avoid dead-end streets or cul-de-sacs whenever possible; E. Assign pupils to school buses so that passenger loads do not exceed manufacturer vehicle passenger capacity and to avoid overloading; F. All school buses should be loaded as near their capacity as possible; G. Buses should be used primarily to transport pupils to and from school. Buses may be used to transport pupils on school-sponsored activity trips, but such trips should not interfere with the transportation of pupils to and from school; H. Each school district shall keep on file an up-to-date map showing the location and length of each school bus route; I. Bus routing and seating plans shall be coordinated so that there are no standees and every passenger is provided a seat. The seating space provided each passenger must be sufficient to ensure that the back of each passenger may come into full contact with the seat back; J. All vehicles used to transport pupils shall comply with the requirements of the law and with standards and safety rules as adopted by the board; and K. School bus inspections shall not be made more than sixty (60) days prior to operating the vehicles during the school year. 4. School districts which transport nonresident pupils not legally assigned or through an interdistrict contract shall not claim any additional miles as eligible miles and the pupils shall be reported as ineligible pupils. A. High school pupils from elementary school districts. High school pupils residing in an elementary school district are to be claimed only by the elementary district. The elementary district shall claim mileage from where the bus enters the elementary district, including miles traveled within the elementary district and the most direct route to the school of attendance. AUTHORITY: sections 161.092 and 163.161, RSMo 2016, and sections 162.064 and 304.060, RSMo Supp 2018.* This rule was previously filed as 5 CSR 40-261.010. Original rule filed June 15, 1951, effective July 1, 1951. Amended: Filed Feb. 27, 1957, effective July 1, 1957. Amended: Filed Aug. 20, 1959, effective Sept. 1, 1959. Amended: Filed June 26, 1962, effective July 10, 1962. Amended: Filed July 25, 1966, effective Aug. 5, 1966. Amended: Filed April 5, 1967, effective July 1, 1967. Amended: Filed Nov. 22, 1972, effective Jan. 1, 1973. Amended: Filed Dec. 23, 1975, effective Jan. 5, 1976. Amended: Filed Dec. 14, 1976, effective May 16, 1977. Amended: Filed Feb. 27, 1979, effective June 15, 1979. Amended: Filed July 1, 1980, effective Nov. 14, 1980. Amended: Filed Feb. 27, 1981, effective July 1, 1981. Amended: Filed Aug. 11, 1983, effective Dec. 12, 1983. Amended: Filed May 23, 1988, effective Aug. 25, 1988. Amended: Filed Aug. 1, 1989, effective July 1, 1990. Amended: Filed Jan. 28, 1992, effective Aug. 6, 1992. Amended: Filed Dec. 21, 1992, effective July 8, 1993. Amended: June 21, 1996, effective Jan. 30, 1997. Amended: Filed Oct. 28, 1997, effective May 30, 1998. Amended: Filed July 31, 1998, effective Feb. 28, 1999. Amended: Filed Sept. 27, 2000, effective May 30, 2001. Amended Filed May 27, 2003, effective Dec. 30, 2003. Amended: Filed Nov. 29, 2018, effective June 30, 2019. *Original authority: 161.092, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 2002, 2003, 2013, 2014; 162.064, RSMo 2005, amended 2018; 163.161, RSMo 1963, amended 1965, 1969, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1998; and 304.060, RSMo 1949, amended 1977, 1987, 1992, 2018. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 66, Neff (12-9-57). It is illegal for school districts to pay for transportation in vehicles not meeting rules adopted by State Board of Education, regardless of whether district receives state aid.