Policies For School Bus Inspections

(1) Annual School Bus Inspections (Type A, B, C, D and Multifunction School Activity Buses). (a) School Bus Inspections will be conducted by a Qualified School Bus Inspector. Those charged with inspecting such vehicles must have completed the training program provided by the Department prior to conducting inspections. (b) The inspector will be responsible for ensuring that all vehicles designed for use in the school system used for the transportation of students to and from school and school- related activities will meet the requirements as identified in the State Board of Education minimum specifications for school buses. These minimum specifications can be accessed on the Board’s website https://www.tn.gov/sbe/rules--policies-and- guidance/policies.html. (c) All inspections will be coordinated through Pupil Transportation Safety Headquarters office. (d) Placing a vehicle out-of-service will be the responsibility of the inspector. (e) The inspector shall be required to explain the reasons for noncompliance with the specifications to the Transportation Director and/or Superintendent of schools. (f) Upon approval of and/or noncompliance of the bus(es), the inspector shall: 1. Complete the School Bus Inspection Report in its entirety. 2. The inspector will submit the School Bus Inspection Report to the School Bus Inspection database. 3. The inspection report shall be available to the local education administration through the School Bus Inspection program. Each School District Transportation Director shall be responsible for electronically acknowledging each School Bus Inspection for the school district fleet. (g) Every Public School, Private School, Charter School, Contractor, Head Start or Daycare wishing to have a School Bus Inspection completed as required by Tennessee law or pursuant to complimentary agreement to satisfy a federal requirement shall be entered into the electronic School Bus Inspection program prior to the transportation of children for any reason. The owner of said school bus shall also make available a copy of the registration and title to identify proper in-service date as required by the T.C.A. Years of service will be determined according to T.C.A. § 49-6-2109. Determination of the original in-service date shall be based on the original title or body build date; RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SCHOOL BUS INSPECTION CHAPTER 1340-03-03 PROCEDURES whichever best represents the true life of the school bus. School buses that were used as “demo” or nonregistered and working school buses and having less than 2,500 odometer miles shall have an in-service date of the original title/registration date. (h) A school bus involved in a crash or incident that necessitates mechanical repair shall be considered out-of-service by the Department. When the school bus is repaired and road worthy, an inspection must be conducted by a Qualified School Bus Inspector prior to transporting pupils. It is the responsibility of the School District Transportation Director to make notification of any school bus crash to their assigned Department school bus inspector. An incident/crash that requires any repair or the school bus to be towed shall be reported to the Department’s pupil administrative office or district bus inspector for inspection. (i) The owners of all school buses, whether State Government, Local Government, or by contract, that are in service shall maintain records of all maintenance actions and safety inspections performed on each bus. Such records shall be available at all times to the Commissioner or the Commissioner's designee for review. (j) All maintenance actions and records thereof shall comply with the minimum standards set forth by the bus manufacturers and Tennessee School Bus Specifications. The Tennessee School Bus Specifications are maintained by the Tennessee State Board of Education. (k) Driver pre-trip inspection reports shall be completed and maintained, and such records shall be available at all times to the Commissioner or the Commissioner's designee. The pre-trip inspection report shall at a minimum indicate compliance with all items set forth in the CDL driver handbook, pre-trip section. (2) Extended Utilization Inspections (Type C School Buses, Type D School Buses and Multifunction School Activity Buses) (a) All policies of the Annual School Bus Inspections shall apply to Extended Utilization Inspections. (b) Extended Utilization Inspections shall be conducted on all Type C, Type D, and Multifunction school activity buses prior to the beginning of the 16th year of service. (c) At such inspections, the inspector shall have the authority to require repairs or reconditioning to be made which they consider necessary for the continued safe use and operation of the bus. 1. If the local authority or owner refuses to take the required actions, or if the inspector considers continued use of a bus to be unsafe, the inspector shall order its removal from service. (d) Any Type C, Type D, or Multifunction school activity bus purchased from an out-of- state entity shall be in service in Tennessee for a minimum period of 2 consecutive years to be eligible for additional years of service beyond 15 years. (e) Application for extended utilization of Type C, Type D, and Multifunction school activity buses shall be submitted 30 days prior to said school bus starting the 16th year. A Local Education Agency (LEA) may choose to request one or two inspection(s) per application. Each request for inspection shall be accompanied by three hundred eighty- five dollars ($385.00) per inspection. RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SCHOOL BUS INSPECTION CHAPTER 1340-03-03 PROCEDURES 1. All applications for extended utilization are processed electronically through PAAMS. Access to PAAMS shall be the responsibility of the School District Transportation Director. 2. All payments must be processed through the Department’s Cashier’s Office. The Pupil Transportation Section is not authorized to accept any payments. Once the Pupil Transportation Section has obtained a receipt of payment from the Cashier’s Office, the request will be approved and made available for inspection. Cashier’s Office P.O. Box 24589 Nashville, TN 37202 (f) Inspection Fees 1. Inspection fees must be paid to the Department prior to the inspections being conducted. 2. Owners are encouraged to pay for both Extended Utilization Inspections at the time application is made for the bus. 3. Inspection fees will not be reimbursed if a bus does not pass inspection requirements. 4. Any bus for which application has been made for extended utilization shall be placed out-of-service if the required inspection fee has not been paid. (g) A School Bus Inspection Report shall be completed on all Extended Utilization Inspections. Transportation Directors can receive a printable copy of the School Bus Inspection Report utilizing PAAMS. (3) Random Spot Check Inspections (a) All policies of the Annual School Bus Inspections shall apply to unannounced spot check inspections. (b) Spot check inspections shall be conducted at the discretion of the school bus inspectors. These inspections are random and/or unannounced to determine whether buses are able to safely operate and transport children. 1. Spot check inspections shall be conducted on buses that have annual inspections performed during the same school year. 2. Dates and times for the spot check inspections shall not be announced. 3. School bus inspectors shall determine dates and times so as not to interfere with normal operations of the school system being inspected. 4. A minimum of 10% of each school district’s vehicles, determined as of August 1 each year, shall be inspected prior to July 31 of the subsequent year. The pupil transportation division within the Department shall provide guidance to the school bus inspectors in selecting buses for spot check inspections. RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SCHOOL BUS INSPECTION CHAPTER 1340-03-03 PROCEDURES (c) A School Bus Inspection Report shall be completed on all spot check inspections. School District Transportation Directors can receive a printable copy of the School Bus Inspection Report utilizing PAAMS. (4) During the inspection process, inspectors will permit on-the-spot repairs to be made by school officials if they do not interfere with the ongoing inspection. Every effort should be made to correct those deficiencies prior to inspection, during inspection, and post inspection periods to reduce follow-up inspections. (5) Penalties for Violations (a) Any driver who operates a bus that has been placed out-of-service or who fails to comply with any other provision of this rule, or any other rules or state laws, shall be subject to downgrade licensing action, which includes removal of the school bus endorsement on their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) for a period of one (1) year. 1. Any downgrade licensing action against a driver shall be preceded by notification as provided by T.C.A. § 55-50-502, permitting request for a hearing before licensing action is initiated. 2. Drivers that have their school bus endorsement removed may reapply for the endorsement and have operating privileges restored after one (1) year and upon satisfactorily completing the required safety training as mandated for all other Tennessee school bus drivers and complying with the laws and regulations for reinstatement of the endorsement through required testing by the driver’s license issuance division within the Department. (b) Non-compliance with any provision of this rule may result in notification to the state department of education for review of transportation funding.