Legal Focus

2018 will see the effects of many laws and regulations that that were passed in the last year. Following is a brief “year in review” highlighting the federal and state regulations that matter to Pennsylvania’s school bus contractors.

The PA Public School Code 24 P.S. §111-1 requires background checks for employees and independent contractors employed by public and private schools, intermediate units and area vocational-technical schools. The list of disqualifying criminal offenses includes twenty-six criminal violations with no limit on the lookback period. This article discusses the existing state law and proposed federal legislation regarding DUI convictions that also have an unlimited lookback period.

In September 2017, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) introduced H.R.3703, the No School Bus Drivers with DUIs Act, aimed at prohibiting state and local education agencies from hiring school bus drivers who have been previously convicted of a DUI. This bill stems from recent national news stories reporting on isolated incidents of poor background check protocols. The NSTA and related trade associations responded earlier this year to news reports circulated by CBS News alleging poor search practices, and ref...

After December 1, 2017, school bus contractors with 20 or more employees will be required to report workplace injuries electronically. OSHA, at 29 CFR § 1904, requires employers to keep records of workplace injuries on forms 300, 300A, and 301. After December 1, 2017, the required reporting will be done on the OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA). More reporting information can be found at https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/states.html.

The compliance date for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) electronic logging device (ELD) requirement (keeping mileage logs electronically instead of on paper) is December 18, 2017. School bus operations are generally exempt from the federal ELD requirement according to 49 CFR 390.3 and 390.5. But, school bus contractors should be aware of the scope of the exemptions.

Operators of diesel vehicles know that red dye in diesel fuel indicates that the fuel was provided to the end user without payment of “on-road” taxes. The most common permitted use of red dyed fuel is for farming and agricultural use. That is why red dyed diesel fuel is commonly called “off-road diesel”. The language of the exceptions permitting the use of red dyed diesel on public roads are reasonably interpreted to include certain school bus use on public roads, but the exception language ...

Homeless student transportation is an ongoing issue for many school districts. It is especially problematic if the student’s drop off location changes multiple times throughout the school year. The costs of transporting a single student outside of typical routes can be costly. Fortunately, the federal government created the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (“McKinney-Vento”), as a way to provide funding to help pay for the school transportation needs of homeless students. This ...