1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to school buses; providing a penalty.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 22.084, Education Code, is amended to
1-5 read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 22.084. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS OF SCHOOL
1-7 BUS DRIVERS, BUS MONITORS, AND BUS AIDES. (a) Except as provided
1-8 by Subsections (c) and (d), a [A] school district, open-enrollment
1-9 charter school, private school, regional education service center,
1-10 or shared services arrangement that contracts with a person for
1-11 transportation services shall obtain from any law enforcement or
1-12 criminal justice agency all criminal history record information
1-13 that relates to:
1-14 (1) a person employed by the person as a bus driver;
1-15 or
1-16 (2) a person the person intends to employ as a bus
1-17 driver.
1-18 (b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), a [A]
1-19 person that contracts with a school district, open-enrollment
1-20 charter school, private school, regional education service center,
1-21 or shared services arrangement to provide transportation services
1-22 shall submit to the district, school, service center, or shared
1-23 services arrangement the name and other identification data
1-24 required to obtain criminal history record information of each
2-1 person described by Subsection (a). If the district, school,
2-2 service center, or shared services arrangement obtains information
2-3 that a person described by Subsection (a) has been convicted of a
2-4 felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, the district,
2-5 school, service center, or shared services arrangement shall inform
2-6 the chief personnel officer of the person with whom the district,
2-7 school, service center, or shared services arrangement has
2-8 contracted, and the person may not employ that person to drive a
2-9 bus on which students are transported without the permission of the
2-10 board of trustees of the district or service center, the governing
2-11 body of the open-enrollment charter school, or the chief executive
2-12 officer of the private school or shared services arrangement.
2-13 (c) A commercial transportation company that contracts with
2-14 a school district, open-enrollment charter school, private school,
2-15 regional education service center, or shared services arrangement
2-16 to provide transportation services may obtain from any law
2-17 enforcement or criminal justice agency all criminal history record
2-18 information that relates to:
2-19 (1) a person employed by the commercial transportation
2-20 company as a bus driver, bus monitor, or bus aide; or
2-21 (2) a person the commercial transportation company
2-22 intends to employ as a bus driver, bus monitor, or bus aide.
2-23 (d) If the commercial transportation company obtains
2-24 information that a person employed or to be employed by the company
2-25 has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral
2-26 turpitude, the company may not employ that person to drive or to
2-27 serve as a bus monitor or bus aide on a bus on which students are
3-1 transported without the permission of the board of trustees of the
3-2 district or service center, the governing body of the
3-3 open-enrollment charter school, or the chief executive officer of
3-4 the private school or shared services arrangement. Subsections (a)
3-5 and (b) do not apply if information is obtained as provided by
3-6 Subsection (c).
3-7 SECTION 2. Section 34.002, Education Code, is amended to
3-8 read as follows:
3-9 Sec. 34.002. Safety Standards. (a) The [General Services
3-10 Commission, with the advice of the] Department of Public Safety,
3-11 with the advice of the General Services Commission and the Texas
3-12 Education Agency, shall establish safety standards for school buses
3-13 [motor vehicles] used to transport students in accordance with
3-14 Section 34.002, Education Code [105, Uniform Act Regulating Traffic
3-15 on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)].
3-16 (b) Each school district shall meet or exceed [comply with]
3-17 the safety standards for school buses [motor vehicles] established
3-18 [by the General Services Commission] under Subsection (a).
3-19 (c) A school district that fails or refuses to meet [comply
3-20 with] the safety standards for school buses established under this
3-21 section is ineligible to share in the transportation allotment
3-22 under Section 42.155 until the first anniversary of the date the
3-23 district begins complying with the safety standards.
3-24 SECTION 3. Section 34.003, Education Code, is amended to
3-25 read as follows:
3-26 Sec. 34.003. Operation of School Buses. (a) School buses
3-27 or mass transit authority motor buses shall be used for the
4-1 transportation of students to and from schools on [school bus]
4-2 routes having 10 or more students. On those [school bus] routes
4-3 having fewer than 10 students, passenger cars may be used for the
4-4 transportation of students to and from school.
4-5 (b) To transport students in connection with school
4-6 activities other than on [school bus] routes to and from school:
4-7 (1) only school buses or motor[,] buses [chartered
4-8 from motor bus companies, or district-owned buses meeting the
4-9 safety standards prescribed for vehicles used by motor bus
4-10 companies] may be used to transport 15 [10] or more students in any
4-11 one vehicle; and
4-12 (2) passenger cars or passenger vans may be used to
4-13 transport fewer than 15 [10] students.
4-14 (c) In all circumstances in which passenger cars or
4-15 passenger vans are used to transport students, the operator of the
4-16 vehicle shall ensure that the number of passengers in the vehicle
4-17 does not exceed the designed capacity of the vehicle and that each
4-18 passenger is secured by a safety belt.
4-19 (d) In this section, "passenger van" means a motor vehicle
4-20 other than a motorcycle or passenger car, used to transport persons
4-21 and designed to transport 15 or fewer passengers, including the
4-22 driver.
4-23 (e) "Motor bus" means a vehicle designed to transport more
4-24 than 15 passengers, including the driver.
4-25 SECTION 4. Section 34.004, Education Code, is amended to
4-26 read as follows:
4-27 Sec. 34.004. STANDING CHILDREN. A school district may not
5-1 require or allow a child to stand on a school bus or passenger van
5-2 that is in motion.
5-3 SECTION 5. Section 34.008, Education Code, is amended to
5-4 read as follows:
5-5 Sec. 34.008. Contract With Transit Authority or Commercial
5-6 Transportation Company. (a) A board of county school trustees or
5-7 school district board of trustees may contract with a mass transit
5-8 authority or a commercial transportation company for all or any
5-9 part of a district's public school transportation if the authority
5-10 or company:
5-11 (1) requires its school bus drivers to have the
5-12 qualifications required by and to be certified in accordance with
5-13 standards established by the Department of Public Safety; and
5-14 (2) uses only those school buses or mass transit
5-15 authority buses [motor vehicles] in transporting 15 or more public
5-16 school students that meet or exceed [satisfy] safety standards for
5-17 school buses established under Section 34.002, Education Code
5-18 [requirements imposed by law on school motor vehicles operated by
5-19 public school transportation systems].
5-20 (b) This section does not prohibit the county or school
5-21 district board from supplementing the state transportation cost
5-22 allotment with local funds necessary to provide complete
5-23 transportation services.
5-24 (c) A mass transit authority [or a commercial transportation
5-25 company] contracting under this section for daily transportation of
5-26 pre-primary, primary, or secondary students to or from school shall
5-27 conduct, in a manner and on a schedule approved by the county or
6-1 district school board, the following education programs:
6-2 (1) a program to inform the public that public school
6-3 students will be riding on the authority's or company's buses;
6-4 (2) a program to educate the drivers of the buses to
6-5 be used under the contract of the special needs and problems of
6-6 public school students riding on the buses; and
6-7 (3) a program to educate public school students on bus
6-8 riding safety and any special considerations arising from the use
6-9 of the authority's or company's buses.
6-10 [(d) In this section, "transit authority" includes a
6-11 transportation authority or a transit department.]
6-12 SECTION 6. Section 34.009(b), Education Code, is amended to
6-13 read as follows:
6-14 (b) A school bus that is leased or leased with an option to
6-15 purchase under this section must meet or exceed the safety
6-16 standards for school buses established under Section 34.002,
6-17 Education Code [34.002].
6-18 SECTION 7. Section 521.022, Transportation Code, is amended
6-19 to read as follows:
6-20 Sec. 521.022. RESTRICTIONS ON OPERATORS OF CERTAIN SCHOOL
6-21 BUSES. (a) A person under 18 years of age may not operate [a
6-22 motor vehicle while that vehicle is in use as] a school bus for the
6-23 transportation of students [pupils to or from school].
6-24 (b) A person who is 18 years of age or older may not operate
6-25 [a motor vehicle while that vehicle is in use as] a school bus
6-26 unless the person holds an appropriate class of driver's license
6-27 for the vehicle being operated [a license to operate a school bus].
7-1 (c) A person may not [be employed to] operate [a motor
7-2 vehicle while that vehicle is in use as] a school bus for the
7-3 transportation of students [pupils] unless the person meets the
7-4 mental and physical capability requirements the department
7-5 establishes by rule and has passed an examination approved by the
7-6 department to determine the person's mental and physical
7-7 capabilities to operate a school bus safely. Each school bus
7-8 operator must pass the examination annually.
7-9 (d) A person may not operate a school bus for the
7-10 transportation of students unless [Before employing a person to
7-11 operate a school bus, a driver's license check shall be made with
7-12 the department and] the person's driving record is [must be]
7-13 acceptable according to minimum standards adopted [jointly
7-14 developed] by [the State Board of Education and] the department. A
7-15 check of the person's driving record shall be made with the
7-16 department annually.
7-17 (e) A person may not operate a school bus for the
7-18 transportation of students unless the person is certified in school
7-19 bus safety education or has enrolled in a school bus safety
7-20 education class under provisions adopted by the department.
7-21 Effective on the date and under provisions determined by the
7-22 department [State Board of Education], a school bus operator must
7-23 hold a card [certificate] that states that the operator is enrolled
7-24 in or has completed a driver training course [jointly] approved by
7-25 the [State Board of Education and the] department in school bus
7-26 safety education. The card [certificate] is valid for three years.
7-27 (f) Before a person is employed to operate a school bus to
8-1 transport students, the employer must obtain a criminal history
8-2 record check. A school district, school, service center, or shared
8-3 services arrangement, or a commercial transportation company under
8-4 contract with a school district, that obtains information that a
8-5 person has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving
8-6 moral turpitude may not employ the person to drive a school bus on
8-7 which students are transported unless the employment is approved by
8-8 the board of trustees of the school district or the board's
8-9 designee.
8-10 (g) This section does not affect the right of an otherwise
8-11 qualified person with a hearing disability to be licensed,
8-12 certified, and employed as a bus operator for vehicles used to
8-13 transport hearing-impaired students [persons].
8-14 (h) [(g)] This section does not apply to the operation of a
8-15 vehicle owned by a public institution of higher education to
8-16 transport students of a school district that operates within that
8-17 institution if:
8-18 (1) the person operating the vehicle is approved by
8-19 the institution to operate the vehicle; and
8-20 (2) the transportation is for a special event,
8-21 including a field trip.
8-22 SECTION 8. Sections 541.201(3), (12), and (15),
8-23 Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
8-24 (3) "Bus" means:
8-25 (A) a motor vehicle used to transport persons
8-26 and designed to accommodate more than 10 passengers, including the
8-27 operator; or
9-1 (B) a motor vehicle, other than a taxicab,
9-2 designed and used to transport persons for compensation.
9-3 (12) "Passenger car" means a motor vehicle, other than
9-4 a motorcycle, used to transport persons and designed to accommodate
9-5 10 or fewer passengers, including the operator.
9-6 (15) "School bus" means a bus designed to transport
9-7 more than 15 passengers, including the operator, and used for
9-8 purposes that include regularly transporting students to and from
9-9 school or school-related events. The term does not include a
9-10 school-chartered bus or a bus operated by a mass transit authority
9-11 [motor vehicle, other than a bus used in an urban area by a common
9-12 carrier to transport schoolchildren, that:]
9-13 [(A) is being used to transport children to or
9-14 from a school or school-related activity; and]
9-15 [(B) complies with the color and identification
9-16 requirements provided in the most recent edition of standards
9-17 produced and sponsored by the National Education Association's
9-18 National Commission on Safety Education].
9-19 SECTION 9. Section 545.066, Transportation Code, is amended
9-20 by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
9-21 follows:
9-22 (a) An operator on a highway, when approaching from either
9-23 direction a school bus stopped on the highway to receive or
9-24 discharge a student [schoolchild]:
9-25 (1) shall stop before reaching the school bus when the
9-26 bus is operating a visual signal as required by Section 547.701;
9-27 and
10-1 (2) may not proceed until:
10-2 (A) the school bus resumes motion;
10-3 (B) the operator is signaled by the bus driver
10-4 to proceed; or
10-5 (C) the visual signal is no longer actuated.
10-6 (f) For the purposes of this section:
10-7 (1) a highway is considered to have separate roadways
10-8 only if the highway has roadways separated by an intervening space
10-9 on which operation of vehicles is not permitted, a physical
10-10 barrier, or a clearly indicated dividing section constructed to
10-11 impede vehicular traffic; and
10-12 (2) a highway is not considered to have separate
10-13 roadways if the highway has roadways separated only by a left turn
10-14 lane.
10-15 SECTION 10. Section 545.253(a), Transportation Code, is
10-16 amended to read as follows:
10-17 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the operator of a
10-18 motor bus carrying passengers for hire [or of a school bus carrying
10-19 a schoolchild], before crossing a railroad grade crossing:
10-20 (1) shall stop the vehicle not closer than 15 feet or
10-21 farther than 50 feet from the nearest rail of the railroad;
10-22 (2) while stopped, shall listen and look in both
10-23 directions along the track for an approaching train and signals
10-24 indicating the approach of a train; and
10-25 (3) may not proceed until it is safe to do so.
10-26 SECTION 11. Subchapter F, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
10-27 is amended by adding Section 545.2535 to read as follows:
11-1 Sec. 545.2535. SCHOOL BUSES TO STOP AT ALL RAILROAD GRADE
11-2 CROSSINGS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the operator
11-3 of a school bus, before crossing a track at a railroad grade
11-4 crossing:
11-5 (1) shall stop the vehicle not closer than 15 feet or
11-6 farther than 50 feet from the track;
11-7 (2) while stopped, shall listen and look in both
11-8 directions along the track for an approaching train and signals
11-9 indicating the approach of a train; and
11-10 (3) may not proceed until it is safe to do so.
11-11 (b) After stopping as required by Subsection (a), the
11-12 operator may proceed in a gear that permits the vehicle to complete
11-13 the crossing without a change of gears. The operator may not shift
11-14 gears while crossing the track.
11-15 (c) An operator is not required to stop at:
11-16 (1) an abandoned railroad grade crossing that is
11-17 marked with a sign reading "tracks out of service"; or
11-18 (2) an industrial or spur line railroad grade crossing
11-19 that is marked with a sign reading "exempt."
11-20 (d) A sign under Subsection (c) may be erected only by or
11-21 with the consent of the appropriate state or local governmental
11-22 official.
11-23 SECTION 12. Section 547.701, Transportation Code, is amended
11-24 by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to
11-25 read as follows:
11-26 (b) A school bus may be equipped with:
11-27 (1) rooftop warning lamps:
12-1 (A) that conform to and are placed on the bus in
12-2 accordance with specifications adopted under Section 34.002,
12-3 Education Code [11.12, Education Code]; and
12-4 (B) that [which] may be operated only during
12-5 inclement weather when the bus is stopping or is stopped to load or
12-6 unload students [schoolchildren]; and
12-7 (2) movable stop arms:
12-8 (A) that conform to regulations adopted under
12-9 Section 34.002, Education Code [11.12, Education Code]; and
12-10 (B) that [which] may be operated only when the
12-11 bus is stopped to load or unload students [schoolchildren].
12-12 (c) When a school bus is being stopped or is stopped on a
12-13 highway to permit students to board or exit the bus, the operator
12-14 of the bus shall activate all flashing warning signal lights and
12-15 other equipment on the bus designed to warn other drivers that the
12-16 bus is stopping to load or unload children. A person may not
12-17 operate such a light or other equipment except when the bus is
12-18 being stopped or is stopped on a highway to permit students to
12-19 board or exit the bus [A school bus operator shall activate the
12-20 warning equipment designed to warn other vehicle operators that the
12-21 bus is stopping to load or unload children, including flashing
12-22 warning signal lamps, when the bus is stopping or stopped to load
12-23 or unload schoolchildren. A person may not activate the warning
12-24 equipment at any other time].
12-25 (d) The exterior of a school bus may not bear advertising or
12-26 another paid announcement directed at the public if the advertising
12-27 or announcement distracts from the effectiveness of required safety
13-1 warning equipment. The department shall adopt rules to implement
13-2 this subsection. A school bus that violates this section or rules
13-3 adopted under this section shall be placed out of service until it
13-4 complies.
13-5 SECTION 13. Section 411.097, Government Code, is amended to
13-6 read as follows:
13-7 Sec. 411.097. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION:
13-8 SCHOOL DISTRICT, CHARTER SCHOOL, PRIVATE SCHOOL, REGIONAL EDUCATION
13-9 SERVICE CENTER, COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, OR EDUCATION
13-10 SHARED SERVICES ARRANGEMENT. (a) A school district, charter
13-11 school, private school, regional education service center,
13-12 commercial transportation company, or education shared services
13-13 arrangement is entitled to obtain from the department criminal
13-14 history record information maintained by the department that the
13-15 district, school, service center, or shared services arrangement is
13-16 required or authorized to obtain under Subchapter C, Chapter 22,
13-17 Education Code, that relates to a person who is:
13-18 (1) an applicant for employment by the district,
13-19 school, service center, or shared services arrangement; or
13-20 (2) an employee of or an applicant for employment with
13-21 a public or commercial transportation company that contracts with
13-22 the district, school, service center, or shared services
13-23 arrangement to provide transportation services if the employee
13-24 drives or the applicant will drive a bus in which students are
13-25 transported or is employed or is seeking employment as a bus
13-26 monitor or bus aide on a bus in which students are transported.
13-27 (b) A school district, charter school, private school,
14-1 regional education service center, or education shared services
14-2 arrangement is entitled to obtain from the department, no more than
14-3 twice each year, criminal history record information maintained by
14-4 the department that the district, school, service center, or shared
14-5 services arrangement is required or authorized to obtain under
14-6 Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Education Code, that relates to a person
14-7 who is a volunteer or employee of the district, school, service
14-8 center, or shared services arrangement.
14-9 (c) Criminal history record information obtained by a school
14-10 district, charter school, private school, service center,
14-11 commercial transportation company, or shared services arrangement
14-12 under Subsection (a) or (b) may not be released or disclosed to any
14-13 person, other than the individual who is the subject of the
14-14 information, the Texas Education Agency, the State Board for
14-15 Educator Certification, or the chief personnel officer of the
14-16 transportation company, if the information is obtained under
14-17 Subsection (a)(2).
14-18 (d) If a regional education service center or commercial
14-19 transportation company that receives criminal history record
14-20 information from the department under this section requests the
14-21 information by providing to the department a list, including the
14-22 name, date of birth, and any other personal descriptive information
14-23 required by the department for each person, through electronic
14-24 means, magnetic tape, or disk, as specified by the department, the
14-25 department may not charge the service center or commercial
14-26 transportation company more than the lesser of:
14-27 (1) the department's cost for providing the
15-1 information; or
15-2 (2) the amount prescribed by another law.
15-3 SECTION 14. (a) In addition to the substantive changes in
15-4 law made by this Act, this Act conforms the Transportation Code to
15-5 changes in law made by Sections 55 and 56, Chapter 260, and Section
15-6 25, Chapter 1009, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session,
15-7 1995.
15-8 (b) To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over
15-9 another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
15-10 relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
15-11 codes.
15-12 SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
15-13 SECTION 16. The importance of this legislation and the
15-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
15-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
15-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
15-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3249 was passed by the House on May
16, 1997, by a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 3249 on May 28, 1997, by a non-record
vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3249 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 24, 1997, by a viva-voce vote.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor