Legal Focus

On July 1, 2015 House Bill 1276 was passed and signed into law as Act 15 of 2015 updating the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) regarding the timing and portability of background checks for employees who have direct contact with children. This amendment to the CPSL makes important changes to coordinate with Pennsylvania’s Public School Code of 1949.

Many school bus contractors have called our offices with questions about news articles announcing that after January 30, 2015, CDL holders will no longer need to carry a federal medical examiner’s certificate. This article will provide you with the background information regarding this announcement and current status of the FMCSA rule.

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 ...

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.

As you will recall, in 2012 the Pennsylvania Legislature considered a variety of changes to Pennsylvania’s existing wiretap law, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703. The existing statue, commonly regarded as the most restrictive in the nation, devotes most of its text to law enforcement’s use of wiretaps and provides criminal and civil remedies for violations. The risk of enforcement against a school bus contractor is an unintended result of that statue. While certain changes to Pennsylvania’s wiretap law wer...

Many school bus contractors are faced with the Pennsylvania wiretap law dilemma. That is, school districts contractually or informally require video and audio taping on school buses for the purpose of enhancing student safety and addressing student discipline issues. But, audio taping is prohibited by Pennsylvania statutes and case law. The current statutes even impose criminal and civil penalties for violators. School officials point to specific examples of local law enforcement’s refusal to p...

Questions about the fairness of the contract negotiation process with a school district or school board are common - what matters must be discussed in open meetings, what information am I entitled to receive, and what can be done to reconcile a board member’s conflict of interest? This note will briefly discuss the Pennsylvania statues that deal with open meetings, the right to information, and the ethical issue of conflicts of interest.