Legal Focus

The 2013 Hours of Service Federal Regulations have been making a buzz in the school bus industry recently and have sparked some important questions and concerns. Are school bus drivers on activity runs required by state or federal laws to keep a Record of on Duty Status (RODS) log? This article will provide an overview of the Hours-of-Service Safety Regulations, the Record of on Duty Status (RODS) log requirement, who is exempted from RODS, and what you as a contractor should do.

As a result of divorce or other circumstances, it is likely that a child in your School District resides in two different locations. Are you required to provide transportation to both residencies if they are within your district? The January 7, 2014 case of Watts v. ManheimTwp. Sch. Dist. 2014 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 30; 2014 WL 37878 answered that very question.

Aggressive behavior in children is both common and sometimes dangerous. Are your drivers trained in understanding aggressive behaviors and implementing best practices to calm them down? Outlined in this article are reasons why children may become aggressive, intervention tactics, and your legal rights as a bus contractor.

Do you know all the essential information about the students on your bus? Do the school districts you serve share IEP information about individual students? Do you know the dangers of transporting students without knowing the details of their special needs? In 2006, a substitute driver was instructed by the school district to have all students jump from the back of the bus in a mandatory bus evacuation drill. A twelve year old, who suffers from medical conditions making him more susceptible to ...

The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code (Title 75) outlines vehicle and driver responsibilities on the road. Section 75 Pa.C.S. § 3345 (a) states that “…the driver of a vehicle meeting or overtaking any school bus stopped on a highway or trafficway shall stop at least ten feet before reaching the school bus when the red signal lights on the school bus are flashing and the side stop signal arm is activated. In 2011 The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation (NASDPTS) launched a ...

The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) §571.222 titled “School bus passenger seating and crash protection” was modified to include wheelchair-seated students and now requires all wheelchair stations provided by school bus manufacturers to be installed for forward-facing travel and equipped with four-point, strap-type wheelchair tiedown (S5.4.1/.2/.3 Wheelchair securement anchorages) and three-point pelvic/shoulder belt restraint systems that meet static strength requirements (S5.4....

It was a great pleasure to join the PSBA team as they visited Meadville, Washington and Gettysburg during the Regional trip held the last week of March. Each evening session was well attended and we had great participation from the audience. Of course there were a few questions we didn’t get to or we wanted to research the topic a bit more before answering to get the details straight. These excellent questions from the March Regionals are answered below in potpourri fashion.