FILE: ED

Cf: EDCA

The Livingston Parish School Board shall provide to eligible students school transportation services which shall meet the objectives of safety, efficiency, adequacy, and economy. Through the use of publicly and privately owned buses, the Board shall maintain a student transportation program that shall conform to or exceed minimum standards as set forth by pertinent statutes and the State Department of Education, as well as regulations established by the Supervisor of Transportation. It shall be unlawful for the School Board to permit the transport at one time a number of children on a school bus that exceeds the number of seats available on that bus.

All vehicles, owned by either the school district or contract bus drivers, shall carry evidence of insurance and be registered, marked, and equipped according to law. Contract bus drivers who purchase their own insurance shall be required to annually submit to the Supervisor of Transportation proof of proper and valid insurance coverage at least ten (10) days prior to the start of each school year. Should any coverage aspects or insurance policy provisions change during the year, the bus operator shall notify the Supervisor of Transportation immediately.

All buses and other vehicles used primarily for the transportation of students shall be inspected by the assigned driver and the Supervisor of Transportation on a regular basis. All school vehicles shall be inspected a minimum of twice a year, once during June, July or August and certified as safe prior to the beginning of the school session, and once during December, January, or February of each school year, by an approved Louisiana Motor Vehicle Inspection Station.

All school buses used to transport students shall at all times be driven by drivers possessing a valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and having completed pre-service certification training. All school bus operators, including contract bus operators, shall be required to personally operate the school bus assigned or owned, except in the case of illness or emergency. In such cases, a substitute shall be selected from the approved list maintained by the Supervisor of Transportation.

BUS INCENTIVE PLAN

1. Any bus bought must be ten years old or less.

2. Any driver approaching retirement who owns a bus that will exceed twenty (20) years of age before December 31 of that year may request an extension not to exceed two school years. Prior to granting the extension, a thorough inspection of the bus shall be conducted by the Livingston Parish School Board Bus Maintenance staff. Follow-up inspections shall occur every six months until the end of the two-year cycle. Buses not meeting all requirements of the inspection shall be denied an extension until all necessary repairs are completed. All requests for extensions of additional time must be applied for in writing to the Transportation Department at least ninety (90) days prior to December 31, of the effective expiration year.

3. If the retiring transfer driver's bus is condemned, he/she shall be able to purchase a bus older than ten (10) years but less than (18) years, provided the bus meets all requirements of the inspection by the Livingston Parish School Board Bus Maintenance staff. In addition, the transfer driver shall sign a contract that he/she shall not keep the bus any longer than two years and the bus shall not be substituted or sold in the Livingston Parish School System.

VIDEO EQUIPMENT ON SCHOOL BUSES

As a means to help ensure safety and proper conduct on School Board owned and/or contracted school buses, it shall be the policy of the Board that video surveillance equipment be allowed and/or required when such equipment is requested and approved by the Supervisor of Transportation, and operated under rules and regulations established by the Superintendent.

Purposes for which the video equipment may be used are:

1. Monitoring behavior and conduct of students on the bus.

2. Evaluating the conduct and performance of the driver of the bus.

3. Providing evidence relative to adherence or non-adherence to policies of the Board.

The purchase and installation of such equipment shall be the responsibility of the Board. Ownership of the equipment, including the housing thereof, shall remain with the Board. The Board shall have the right and responsibility to remove such equipment, and repair any damage caused by installation of same, when a bus is retired or sold.

Strict adherence to laws and rules of confidentiality shall be maintained in the viewing of tapes and use of equipment to assure compliance with laws and regulations regarding the privacy rights of students and employees.

Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:158 et seq., 17:492, 32:293, 32:378; Olive Morgan v. Livingston Parish School Board, First Circuit Court of Appeals, March 1991; Student Transportation Handbook, Bulletin 1191, State Department of Education; Operational and Vehicle Maintenance Procedures, Bulletin 1475, State Department of Education; Board minutes, 7-94, 2-4-99.