Legal Focus

The end of the school year for students means the beginning of the summer charters season for school bus contractors. Summer camps, church groups, scout groups, and others frequently charter school buses for group trips in the summer. This note will talk about summer charter issues you should consider. But, be aware that all of the issues related to carrying non-student passengers for a fee are far more complex than can be addressed completely in this brief article.

In December 2018, the Uniform Carrier Registration Boac ("UCRB") approved the National School Transportation Association ("NSTA") request for an intrastate school bus fee exemption. This new UCR fee exemption allows school buses that will not cross state lines from their UCR fee calculation. This is a huge savings for contractors who have only a few school buses in their fleet that actually cross state lines.

2018 was another busy year for school bus contractors with many significant events and changes. Following are the most significant occurrences and legal events from the past year that most affected school bus contractors.