A. All applications
will be submitted to the Divisions' School Bus Coordinator on forms provided by
the School Bus Coordinator.
B.
Renewal Applications must be submitted prior to June 1 of each year. Upon
receipt of an application, the School Bus Coordinator will make such
investigation as he deems appropriate to determine whether the applicant meets
the criteria prescribed above.
C.
The School Bus Coordinator shall be authorized to obtain records maintained by
the bureau of criminal identification of the Department of Attorney General in
order to determine the fitness of applicants. After review of the application,
the School Bus Coordinator shall issue the application or give notice to the
applicant of a date and time at which the applicant may be heard concerning the
application.
D. Prior to issuance
of a school bus certificate to any person about whom there is any doubt as to
the applicant's fitness or competency to operate a school bus in accordance
with the criteria prescribed above, the school bus coordinator shall meet with
the applicant and give the applicant an opportunity to be heard concerning any
derogatory information.
E. The
following procedures shall be followed where the School Bus Coordinator has
determined that such a review of the application with the applicant must be
held prior to issuance of a school bus certificate:
1. The notice of review procedure shall
contain the date and time of the review and a brief recitation of the reason or
reasons the school bus coordinator is considering rejecting the application and
notification that failure to attend will result in rejection of the
application.
2. At the date and
time of the review before the School Bus Coordinator the applicant shall again
be informed of the reason the application is being considered for rejection.
The applicant shall be given an opportunity to submit any information the
applicant deems pertinent to the case. The review will be an informal procedure
and no formal rules of evidence will apply.
3. The School Bus Coordinator shall not be
permitted to issue a certificate to a person who does not meet the
qualifications prescribed in §
2.7 of this Part (Statutory
Qualifications for School Bus Certificate). The School Bus Coordinator shall
not be permitted to issue a School Bus Certificate to any person determined
after review and opportunity to be heard to fit into the categories prescribed
in §
2.8 of this Part (Competency
and Fitness of Applicant (Mandatory Considerations)). The School Bus
Coordinator shall be permitted to exercise discretion to issue a certificate to
persons whose competency or fitness is brought into question because of the
considerations contained in §
2.9 of this Part (Competency
and fitness of Applicant (Discretionary Considerations)); in such a case the
School Bus Coordinator may issue a certificate if he considers that, given all
the facts at the review, issuance of a certificate will not be inimical to the
public health, safety and welfare.
4. The School Bus Coordinator shall notify
the applicant of the results of the review within seven (7) days. If an
applicant is rejected after the review before the School Bus Coordinator, the
notice shall contain a statement to the effect that the applicant is entitled
to a de novo appeal or hearing before a hearing officer in the Operator Control
Section. Such a hearing shall be held if and only if the applicant notifies the
School Bus Coordinator in writing of the desire of the applicant for a new
hearing within ten (10) days of the date of the notice of the decision of the
School Bus Coordinator.
5. The
hearing officer in the Operator Control Section shall hold a hearing on the
appeal from the decision of the School Bus Coordinator within twenty (20) days
of the receipt of the request of the applicant and the applicant shall be given
notice of the hearing before the hearing officer at least seven days prior to
the hearing. At such a hearing, the School Bus Coordinator shall present
evidence in support of the denial of the certificate, and it shall be the
burden of the School Bus Coordinator to demonstrate that there was good cause
for denial of the certificate in accordance with these regulations. The hearing
officer shall not be bound by the decision of the school bus coordinator and
shall determine anew whether the applicant fits into the categories of
§§
2.7 and
2.8 of this Part and whether
discretion should be exercised to grant a license even if the applicant fits
into a category listed in §
2.9 of this Part. A record of
the hearing will be made by the hearing officer. For any application rejected
by the hearing officer, the hearing officer shall prepare for the signature of
the Deputy Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, or the designee of said
deputy director, a written notice of the decision which notice shall contain a
brief statement of the reason or reasons for rejection of the application. That
written notice of decision, upon signature of the deputy director, or the
designee of said deputy director, and mailing to the applicant, shall
constitute a final decision of the Division from which appeal may be made to
the Rhode Island District Court (Sixth Division).
