Kentucky Administrative Regulations
Title 702 - EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CABINET - BOARD OF EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - OFFICE OF DISTRICT SUPPORT SERVICES
Chapter 5 - Pupil Transportation
Section 702 KAR 5:080 - Bus drivers' qualifications, responsibilities, and training
Universal Citation: 702 KY Admin Regs Service 5:080
Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2024
RELATES TO: KRS 156.160, 161.011, 189.540, 281A.170 - 281A.175, 49 C.F.R. Parts 380, 382 and 391
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 156.160(1) requires the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations relating to the transportation of children to and from school and to medical inspections and other matters deemed relevant to the protection of the physical welfare and safety of public school children. KRS 189.540 requires the board to promulgate administrative regulations governing the design and operation of school buses. This administrative regulation establishes the qualifications, training, and responsibilities of the school bus driver.
Section 1. Licensing Requirement. A school bus driver shall have a current, valid Commercial Driver's License with applicable endorsements and restrictions pursuant to KRS 281A.170 to 281A.175.
Section 2. Medical Fitness.
(1) A local board of education shall require
an annual medical examination that complies with
KRS
281A.175 for each school bus
driver.
(2) A person shall not
drive a school bus unless physically and mentally able to operate a school bus
safely and in accordance with the requirements of this administrative
regulation.
(3) If there is
limitation of motion in joints, neck, back, arms, legs, or other body parts,
due to injury or disease that may limit the driver's ability to safely perform
the task of driving a school bus or performing other driver responsibilities,
the person shall not be employed as a school bus driver.
(4) A temporarily-injured or ill school bus
driver may be assigned duties other than driving until the employee regains the
ability to safely perform school bus driver duties.
(5) An otherwise medically and physically
eligible school bus driver with diabetes mellitus, may be employed as a school
bus driver, if the driver possesses a valid federal Medical Examiner's
Certificate as required under
49 C.F.R. Part
391.41.
(6) A school bus driver taking medication
either by prescription or without prescription shall report the medication to
the immediate supervisor and shall not drive if that medication may affect the
driver's ability to safely drive a school bus or perform other driver
responsibilities.
(7)
(a) To ensure student safety, a district may
require a school bus driver to pass a medical examination or a special type
medical examination more often than annually at the district's
expense.
(b) The medical
examination shall include risk assessment and appropriate follow-through, as
established in
702 KAR
1:160, Section 1, for tuberculosis upon initial
employment.
(c) The medical
examination shall be documented on the same form required by the Kentucky
Department of Transportation to obtain a commercial driver's license and
retained by the district.
Section 3. Criminal Records Check, Driving History, and Drug Testing.
(1)
(a) A criminal records and driving history
check shall be performed by a local district on school bus drivers prior to
initial employment and prior to reemployment following a break in
employment.
(b)
1. Employment shall be contingent upon
meeting the requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection.
2. A local board of education shall adopt
policies outlining employment qualifications for school bus drivers as related
to these criminal records and driving history checks.
(c) A school bus driver shall immediately
report to the local superintendent or the superin-tendent's designee a:
1. Revocation of the driver's
license;
2. Conviction for driving
under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI);
3. Conviction for reckless driving;
or
4. Citation for a moving motor
vehicle violation, including:
a. Driving under
the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI);
b. Reckless driving; or
c. A violation of state or local law
governing motor vehicle traffic control, other than a parking
violation.
(2)
(a)
Controlled substance and alcohol use testing shall be a condition of employment
for anyone in a safety sensitive student transportation position, including:
1. School bus drivers;
2. School bus mechanics; and
3. Other safety-sensitive jobs requiring a
Commercial Drivers License (CDL) license.
(b) The controlled substance and alcohol use
testing program shall include the following tests:
1. Preemployment testing (controlled
substance only);
2. Postaccident
testing;
3. Random testing;
and
4. Reasonable suspicion
testing.
(c) Prospective
employees who have tested positive for a controlled substance within the last
five (5) years shall not be considered for employment to drive a school bus or
the performance of safety-sensitive services related to student
transportation.
(d) A school bus
driver, school bus mechanic, or anyone performing safety-sensitive student
transportation duties having a confirmed positive test for a controlled
substance shall be relieved of those duties immediately and not be eligible for
reemployment in a safety-sensitive student transportation position for five (5)
years.
(e) A school bus driver,
school bus mechanic, or anyone performing safety-sensitive student
transportation duties who tests at 0.02 percent or higher on the confirmation
alcohol test immediately before, during, or immediately following the
performance of these duties shall be relieved of these duties immediately and
not be eligible for reemployment in a safety-sensitive student transportation
position for five (5) years.
(f) A
person shall not be employed as a school bus driver if convicted within the
past five (5) years of driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while
intoxicated (DWI).
Section 4. Training Requirements.
(1)
(a) Minimum training requirements to become a
school bus driver shall consist of the successful completion of the twenty-one
(21) hour initial training course and follow-up reviews as set forth in the
Kentucky School Bus Driver Trainer Manual.
(b) Prior to the beginning of each school
year, a bus driver shall successfully complete a district specific eight (8)
hour update training.
(c) Each
district shall annually provide the eight (8) hour update training, which shall
be aligned with the Kentucky School Bus Driver Trainer Manual, address the
needs of the district's school bus drivers, and be conducted by a driver
trainer certified in accordance with subsection two (2) of this
section.
(d) The eight (8) hour
update training shall be provided after the district's last student attendance
day of the school year, but prior to opening day of the proceeding school
year.
(e) If a district employs a
school bus driver, after the eight (8) hour annual update training was provided
to bus drivers, the district shall provide the driver with the update training
prior to allowing the driver to transport students.
(f) If a school bus driver leaves the
employment of a school district as a bus driver, and is subsequently reemployed
in the district as a driver, the driver shall complete the eight (8) hour
update training within twelve (12) months following the driver's last date of
employment in the district as a bus driver.
(g) A driver who does not timely complete the
annual eight (8) hour update training and recertification pursuant to this
section shall be required to complete the twenty-one (21) hour initial training
course.
(2)
(a) A driver trainer shall satisfactorily
complete the thirty-three (33) hour classroom and driving curriculum developed
by the Kentucky Department of Education and delivered by a Kentucky Department
of Education approved driver trainer instructor in accordance with the Kentucky
School Bus Driver Trainer Manual.
(b) A driver trainer shall annually complete
a minimum of six (6) hours of training developed by the Kentucky Department of
Education and delivered by a Kentucky Department of Education approved driver
trainer in accordance with the Kentucky School Bus Driver Trainer
Manual.
Section 5. First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). All school bus drivers, student transportation technicians, and employees that transport students shall, at a minimum, receive basic first aid and CPR training by a person with:
(1) A valid certificate in
first-aid training, including CPR, from the American Red Cross; or
(2) Equivalent training that can be verified
by documentary evidence.
Section 6. Emergency Operation.
(1) If an
emergency makes it necessary for the driver to leave the bus while students are
on board, the driver shall follow local board policy.
(2) A driver shall not permit a student to
operate the entrance handle or any other bus control except in case of an
emergency.
Section 7. Transport of Items on School Bus.
(1) A local
board of education shall develop a policy regarding the transport of persons
and items on a school bus.
(2) To
ensure student safety, the policy shall include:
(a) A prohibition on firearms or weapons,
either operative or ceremonial, except that the policy may permit archery bows,
used in connection with a school archery team, to be transported inside the
passenger compartment and arrows transported in the underneath storage
compartment;
(b) A prohibition on
fireworks or other explosive materials of any type;
(c) A prohibition on live animals, except for
a service animal necessary for the student to attend school;
(d) A prohibition on glass objects or helium
balloons; and
(e) A prohibition on
any object that may block the bus aisle or exits or otherwise impede exiting
the bus.
(3) The policy
may additionally address issues related to the safe transport of students,
including eating and drinking on the school bus.
Section 8. Student Assignment.
(1) A school bus driver shall transport only
those students officially assigned to a bus trip unless an unassigned student
presents the driver with written permission, which has been signed by the
school principal or a designee, granting the student permission to ride the bus
trip.
(2) A school bus driver shall
not permit an assigned student to leave the bus at a stop other than the
student's regular stop unless presented with written permission signed by the
school principal or a designee.
(3)
A school bus driver shall not transport a person who is not a student,
including adult employees of the board, unless provided with written permission
from the district superintendent or a designee.
Section 9. Student Seating.
(1) A school bus driver shall supervise the
seating of the students on the bus and may assign a student to a specific seat
on the bus.
(2)
(a) The school bus driver shall make certain
the seating capability of the bus has been fully utilized before any student is
permitted to stand in the bus aisle.
(b) A school bus driver shall not permit
students to stand in the stepwell or landing area if:
1. The student would likely fall out of the
bus if the emergency door were opened; or
2. The driver's view directly in front of the
bus or to either side of the front of the bus would be obscured.
(3) A school bus driver
shall report to the superintendent or a designee an overcrowded condition on
the bus as soon as practicable and in accordance with local district
policies.
Section 10. Loading and Unloading.
(1) A school bus driver
shall activate the flashing amber signal lights at least 200 feet, if
available, or a sufficient distance from a bus stop to warn motorists of the
intended stop.
(2) Once the bus
comes to a complete stop, the school bus driver shall follow the loading and
unloading procedure outlined in the Kentucky School Bus Driver Trainer
Manual.
(3) A stop signal arm and
flashing warning lights shall be in operation anytime students are boarding or
leaving the bus, including on school property.
(4) A school bus driver shall signal students
to board or exit only after determining that any visible approaching traffic
has come to a complete stop and is not beginning to move or attempting to pass
the bus.
(5) A driver of a school
bus shall be on the bus at all times students are loading or
unloading.
Section 11. Fueling. For safety reasons, a driver shall not permit fueling of the bus while students are on board the bus.
Section 12. Student Conduct.
(1) A local
board of education shall develop a policy regarding student conduct on school
buses.
(2) If a student's conduct
on the bus makes it unsafe for the bus to continue on its route, the school bus
driver shall follow local district policy. Ejecting a student from the bus may
be done only in the most extreme circumstances.
(3) If a student has been ejected from a bus
the school bus driver shall notify the immediate supervisor who shall notify
the appropriate district authorities, who shall subsequently notify the
student's parent or legal guardian according to local board policy.
Section 13. Railroad. A school bus driver shall stop the bus at all places where the roadway crosses a railroad track or tracks at the grade level. The stop shall be made not less than fifteen (15) feet and not more than fifty (50) feet from the nearest track.
(1) After making the stop, the driver shall:
(a) Set the parking brake;
(b) Shift to neutral;
(c) Activate the noise abatement
switch;
(d) Open the service door
and driver side window; and
(e)
Carefully look in each direction and listen for approaching trains before
proceeding.
(2) If
visibility is impaired at a crossing, after stopping the driver may allow the
vehicle to roll forward to gain required visibility before
proceeding.
(3) When a driver has
ascertained that it is safe for the bus to cross the railroad tracks or tracks
at the grade level, the driver shall:
(a)
Close the bus service door;
(b)
Shift the bus into the lowest gear;
(c) Release the parking brake;
(d) Proceed immediately to cross the railroad
tracks or tracks at the grade level; and
(e) Turn the noise abatement switch off when
safe to do so.
Section 14. Driver Inspection.
(1) A
school bus driver shall perform and document a pretrip inspection of the bus
safety and operating equipment each time that the bus is taken out for the
transportation of students.
(2) A
school bus driver shall inspect the school bus at the completion of each bus
trip to ensure that no students remain in the bus.
Section 15. Road Conditions. A school bus driver shall not drive the school bus on any roadway if the conditions of the roadway, weather conditions, or other extenuating circumstances may make it unsafe.
Section 16. Driver Seat Belt. A school bus driver shall wear the driver's seat belt at all times that the bus is operated.
Section 17. Tobacco. A school bus driver shall not use tobacco products on the school bus and shall not permit students to use tobacco products on the school bus.
Section 18. Drug and Alcohol.
(1) A school bus driver shall not operate a
school bus while under the influence of alcoholic beverages or any illegal drug
or other drug.
(2) A driver found
under the influence of alcohol or any illegal drug while on duty or with
remaining driving responsibilities that day shall be dismissed from
employment.
Section 19. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) The "Kentucky
School Bus Driver Trainer Manual, November 2020, is incorporated by
reference.
(2) This material may be
inspected, copied, or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the
Pupil Transportation Branch, Department of Education, 300 Sower Boulevard,
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 156.160(1), 189.540
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Kentucky may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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