Current through September 24, 2024
(1) If a program provides transportation or
contracts for transportation, the program's management shall be fully
responsible for all transportation of children, including between home and
program (if different facility from school), to and from school, and on field
trips.
(2) Transportation services
shall be operated in compliance with all state laws, regarding school
transportation and all rules and regulations, promulgated by State Board of
Education regarding school transportation and school buses.
(3) Vehicles used to transport children and
which are owned or operated by, contracted for or which are otherwise under the
direction or control of the school-administered program, shall carry automobile
liability insurance coverage for each vehicle used for that purpose in the
minimum amounts required by T.C.A. §
49-6-2111
and defined in State Board of Education Pupil Transportation Rule
0520-01-05-.01(2).
(a) Automobile insurance coverage for
non-school community-based organizations which transport children shall comply
with the following:
1. Automobile liability
coverage shall be maintained in a minimum amount of five hundred thousand
dollars ($500,000) combined single limit of liability.
2. Medical payment coverage shall be
maintained in the minimum amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for injuries
to children being transported in vehicles owned, operated or leased by the
non-school community-based organization's program.
(4) Vehicles used to transport
children must be in compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
as defined by Title 49 part 571 of the Code of Federal Regulations and the
Tennessee Minimum School Bus Standards, adopted by the State Board of Education
as required by Rule
0520-01-05-.02.
(5) Fifteen (15) passenger vans are
prohibited.
(6) Children may be
transported in passenger vehicles, however, children of all ages but must be in
compliance with passenger restraint laws, T.C.A. §
55-9-602
at all times in passenger vehicles, and must be transported in rear seats.
(a) Any child under one (1) year of age or
any child weighing twenty pounds (20 lbs.) or less shall be properly secured in
a child passenger restraint system in a rear facing position.
(b) Any child, one (1) through three (3)
years of age, weighing greater than twenty pounds (20 lbs.) shall be properly
secured in a child passenger restraint system in a forward facing
position.
(c) Any child, four (4)
through eight (8) years of age and measuring less than four feet, nine inches
in height shall be properly secured in a child seat or a belt-positioning
booster seat.
(d) Any child, nine
(9) through twelve (12) years of age, measuring four feet, nine inches or more
in height, shall be properly secured in a passenger motor vehicle using a seat
belt system in the rear seat of the vehicle.
(e) Any child, thirteen (13) through fifteen
(15) years of age, shall be properly secured in a passenger motor vehicle using
a seat belt system.
(7)
Federally approved child care restraint systems must be provided and utilized
during the transport of any child three (3) years of age or under on a school
bus.
(8) No child shall be allowed
to ride on the floor of a vehicle, and no child shall be placed with another
child in the same restraint device.
(9) All school buses shall be inspected in
compliance with the Rules and Regulations for School Bus Inspection, Chapter
1340-03-03, promulgated by and regulated by the Tennessee Department of
Safety.
(10) All persons hired for
the position of "school bus driver" shall:
(a) Be issued a commercial driver's license
(CDL) by the Tennessee Department of Safety;
(b) Have the "S" and "P" endorsements if
employed by a public school or school system;
(c) Have a "P" endorsement and completion of
school bus driver training if employed by a nonpublic school or a non-school,
community based organization;
(d)
Know and understands the school system's or private school's policies and
procedures concerning transportation and to bus driver's responsibilities and
duties;
(e) Have no criminal
offense or criminal record of a violation of any of the following:
1. Driving under the influence of an
intoxicant as prohibited by T.C.A. § 55-10401;
2. Vehicular assault as prohibited by T.C.A.
§
39-13-106;
3. Vehicular homicide as prohibited by T.C.A.
§
39-13-213(a)(2);
4. Aggravated vehicular homicide as
prohibited by T.C.A. §
39-13-218;
or
5. Manufacture, delivery, sale
or possession of a controlled substance as prohibited by T.C.A. §
39-17-417;
(f) Complete the annual physical
and mental examinations of school bus drivers as required by T.C.A. §
49-6-2108;
(g) Complete the annual training for school
bus drivers presented by the Tennessee Department of Safety (school bus driver
training is not required for drivers of passenger vehicles only); and
(h) Complete CPR and First Aid
certifications. If driver is accompanied by regular staff that has
certification in CPR and First Aid, the driver does not have to meet this
requirement.
(11)
Drivers of any passenger vehicle, used to transport children, shall possess a
current, valid driver's license and endorsement required by the Tennessee
Department of Safety for transporting children in the applicable type of
vehicle.
(12) Seating capacity on a
school bus shall be in compliance with T.C.A. §
49-6-2110(a),
requiring a minimum of thirteen linear inches of seat space for each
student.
(13) Vehicles used for
transporting children shall:
(a) Have a
clearly visible identifying sign. Exceptions: Vehicles used exclusively for the
occasional field trip; vehicles used exclusively for the limited provision of
emergency transportation, e.g., vehicle used when regular vehicle has a
mechanical breakdown; and The Department may waive the vehicle identification
requirements for programs under the direction or control of a public
agency.
(b) Have fire
extinguishers, emergency reflective triangles, a first aid kit, and a
blood-borne pathogenic clean-up kit, and an adult familiar with the use of this
equipment on board. Emergency exiting procedures shall be practiced by all
staff responsible for transporting children on a regular basis. (Not applicable
to occasional transportation by volunteers). All items must be
secured.
(14)
Transportation routes shall be (school bus routes) in compliance with T.C.A.
§
49-6-2105
to ensure no child is on a school bus more than one and one-half (11/2) hours
in the morning and one and one-half (11/2) hours in the afternoon.
(15) Firearms are prohibited in vehicles used
to transport children.
(16)
Supervision of children in vehicles shall meet the following requirements:
(a) An adult must be in the vehicle whenever
a child is in the vehicle.
(b) An
adult must be seated behind the steering wheel if the motor is running and
children are being loaded and/or are on board.
(c) Transportation of children with special
needs shall be in compliance with the Individual Education Plan (IEP) for each
child.
(d) Adult Monitor
Requirements.
1. An adult monitor, in
addition to the driver, is required on the vehicle for the transportation of
four (4) or more children ages six (6) weeks to four (4) years of
age.
2. An adult monitor, in
addition to the driver, is required on the vehicle for all routes exceeding
thirty (30) minutes for children ages six (6) weeks to four (4) years of age,
regardless of the total number of children being transported.
3. An adult monitor, in addition to the
driver, is required on the vehicle for the transportation of four (4) or more
non-ambulatory children (permanently or temporarily non-ambulatory) of any
age.
4. An adult monitor, in
addition to the driver, is required if more than ten (10) Voluntary
Pre-Kindergarten students four (4) years of age are transported on the same
bus.
5. An adult monitor shall not
be seated in the front passenger seat, but shall be seated in the vehicle in a
position which will allow:
(i) Each child to
be seen with a quick glance;
(ii)
Each child to be heard at all times;
(iii) Each child's activities to be observed;
and
(iv) The monitor to respond
immediately should there be an emergency.
(17) A passenger log shall be used
to track each child during transportation.
(a) The first and last name of each child
received for transport shall be recorded on the passenger log. A sibling group
shall not be listed as a single group entry, for example, "Smith
children".
(b) The driver of the
vehicle or the monitor shall be designated as the person responsible for
completing the log.
(c) As each
child is loaded onto the vehicle the time the child was placed on the vehicle
shall be recorded on the passenger log.
(d) The passenger log shall be updated
immediately upon the child being released from the vehicle. The time the child
was released shall be recorded and initialed by the person responsible for
completing the log.
(18)
All drivers shall comply with the following:
(a) Bus drivers who do not return to a
central depot shall check at the end of every run to make sure that no person
remains on the bus as defined in T.C.A. §
49-6-2114.
Immediately upon unloading the last child the driver shall:
1. Physically walk through the
vehicle;
2. Inspect all seat
surfaces, under all seats and in all compartments or recesses in the vehicle's
interior;
3. Sign the log, with the
driver's full name, indicating the children are all unloaded.
(b) If a child is expected for
transport (based on the roster) but is not present at the location, the driver
may not leave the location without checking with a designated member of staff
and the center. If the designated member of staff is not present in the loading
area and there is not an additional adult on the vehicle, all children will
accompany the driver into the facility to verify the whereabouts of the
child.
(c) When Pre-Kindergarten
children are transported on the return route, the school bus driver must not
leave a Pre-K child at the child's home or bus stop unless the parent or other
authorized person is present. If the parent or other authorized person is not
present, the Pre-K student is not to exit the bus and the school bus driver is
to follow the process/policy developed by the school system in collaboration
with the Department of Children's Services and/or the police or sheriff's
office.
(19) All
programs providing transportation for child care shall provide a written
statement to the Department:
(a) Stating the
type(s) of transportation offered, e.g. transportation to and/or from school,
transportation to and/or from child care program, transportation to and/or from
child's home, etc.;
(b) Listing and
describing the vehicles that will be used for the transportation of
children;
(c) Describing any
contracts, agreements or arrangements with any third
(3rd) parties for the provision of transportation
services, with copies of such contracts or agreements or arrangements available
upon the Department's request;
(d)
Describing the agency's policy, procedures and staff training plans for
maintaining compliance with responsibilities for loading and unloading and
tracking each child;
(e) Describing
the agency's management plan for ensuring all transportation staff properly
perform their duties in accordance with the licensing rules and agency policies
and procedures;
(f) Describing the
agency's policy, procedures and staff transportation training plans for
maintaining compliance with transportation rules and state law; and
(g) Describing the agency's policy,
procedures and staff training plans for the emergency evacuation of the
vehicle.
(20)
Non-school, community-based organization vehicles shall meet the following
requirements:
(a) Annually, all non-school,
community-based organization's vehicles that are designed by the vehicle
manufacturer to carry ten (10) or more passengers shall be inspected in
accordance with the schedule established by the Department of Safety. Any
maintenance or repair to the vehicles disclosed by the inspections shall be the
sole responsibility of the non-school, community-based organization.
(b) The non-school, community-based
organization's vehicle may have a stop arm in accordance with T.C.A. §
55-8-151(d)
if the bus driver has completed annual school bus driver training provided by
the Department of Safety.
(c) The
non-school, community-based organization's vehicle with a stop arm is required
to be distinctly marked "Youth Bus" on the front and rear thereof in letters
not less than six inches (6") in height and legibly written.
(d) No vehicle which does not pass the
inspections required in part (a) shall be used by the non-school,
community-based organization to provide transportation services until necessary
repairs, as determined by Department of Safety, have been made.
(e) Non-school, community-based organization
vehicles shall receive regular inspections and maintenance by a certified
mechanic in accordance with the maintenance schedule recommended by the vehicle
manufacturer.
(f) Vehicle equipment
shall be certified as inspected at least every four thousand (4,000) miles, if
not covered by and/or otherwise serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's
maintenance schedule, including: brakes; steering; oil levels; coolant; brake,
windshield- washer and transmission fluids; hoses and belts; and
tires.
(g) The following equipment
shall be maintained in the vehicle and stored in a manner which is not readily
accessible to children: fire extinguisher; emergency reflective triangles;
first aid kit; blood-borne pathogenic clean-up kit; and seat-belt cutter or
similar device designed to immediately release the vehicle's child restraint
system(s) in an emergency.
(h) The
bus driver or transportation monitor assigned to the vehicle shall be familiar
with the location and use of all equipment required under part (g).
(i) The non-school, community-based
organization shall maintain documentation that the following daily inspections
have been performed and any necessary repairs completed or other appropriate
action taken before transporting children.
1.
A visual inspection of the vehicle's tires for wear and adequate
pressure;
2. A visual inspection
for working headlights and taillights (brake lights and back-up lights),
signals, mirrors, wiper blades and dash gauges;
3. An inspection of properly functioning
child and driver safety restraints;
4. An inspection for properly functioning
doors and windows;
5. An inspection
for the presence of safety equipment required by these rules or any other
provisions of law or regulations, and repair or replacement as necessary based
upon visual evidence of the need to do so;
6. A determination that the vehicle has
adequate fuel; and
7. An inspection
for, and cleaning of, debris from the vehicle's interior.
(j) Emergency exiting procedures shall be
practiced on a regular basis by all staff responsible for transporting
children.
(k) Any vehicle,
contracted by a non-school community-based organization for the purposes of
transporting children in a program administered by a non-school,
community-based organization, shall be a for hire commercial passenger vehicle
properly registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration.
(l) The contracted
vehicle shall have a commercial license plate (tag) and shall have minimum
levels of liability insurance as defined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration rule § 387.33.
1. Any
vehicle with seating capacity of sixteen (16) passengers or more shall have
five million dollars ($5,000,000) liability coverage.
2. Any vehicle with seating capacity of
fifteen (15) passengers or less shall have one and one half million dollars
($1,500,000) liability coverage.
Authority: T.C.A. §§
4-5-201,
et seq.; 49-1-302(l); 49-6-2101 through 49-6-2117; 55-8-151; 55-9-602;
55-10-401; and 55-50-101, et seq.
