1-1 By: Hawley (Senate Sponsor - Luna) H.B. No. 3249
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 16, 1997;
1-3 May 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Education; May 18, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable
1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
1-6 May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3249 By: Luna
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to school buses; providing a penalty.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Section 22.084, Education Code, is amended to
1-13 read as follows:
1-14 Sec. 22.084. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS OF SCHOOL
1-15 BUS DRIVERS, BUS MONITORS, AND BUS AIDES. (a) Except as provided
1-16 by Subsections (c) and (d), a [A] school district, open-enrollment
1-17 charter school, private school, regional education service center,
1-18 or shared services arrangement that contracts with a person for
1-19 transportation services shall obtain from any law enforcement or
1-20 criminal justice agency all criminal history record information
1-21 that relates to:
1-22 (1) a person employed by the person as a bus driver;
1-23 or
1-24 (2) a person the person intends to employ as a bus
1-25 driver.
1-26 (b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), a [A]
1-27 person that contracts with a school district, open-enrollment
1-28 charter school, private school, regional education service center,
1-29 or shared services arrangement to provide transportation services
1-30 shall submit to the district, school, service center, or shared
1-31 services arrangement the name and other identification data
1-32 required to obtain criminal history record information of each
1-33 person described by Subsection (a). If the district, school,
1-34 service center, or shared services arrangement obtains information
1-35 that a person described by Subsection (a) has been convicted of a
1-36 felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, the district,
1-37 school, service center, or shared services arrangement shall inform
1-38 the chief personnel officer of the person with whom the district,
1-39 school, service center, or shared services arrangement has
1-40 contracted, and the person may not employ that person to drive a
1-41 bus on which students are transported without the permission of the
1-42 board of trustees of the district or service center, the governing
1-43 body of the open-enrollment charter school, or the chief executive
1-44 officer of the private school or shared services arrangement.
1-45 (c) A commercial transportation company that contracts with
1-46 a school district, open-enrollment charter school, private school,
1-47 regional education service center, or shared services arrangement
1-48 to provide transportation services may obtain from any law
1-49 enforcement or criminal justice agency all criminal history record
1-50 information that relates to:
1-51 (1) a person employed by the commercial transportation
1-52 company as a bus driver, bus monitor, or bus aide; or
1-53 (2) a person the commercial transportation company
1-54 intends to employ as a bus driver, bus monitor, or bus aide.
1-55 (d) If the commercial transportation company obtains
1-56 information that a person employed or to be employed by the company
1-57 has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral
1-58 turpitude, the company may not employ that person to drive or to
1-59 serve as a bus monitor or bus aide on a bus on which students are
1-60 transported without the permission of the board of trustees of the
1-61 district or service center, the governing body of the
1-62 open-enrollment charter school, or the chief executive officer of
1-63 the private school or shared services arrangement. Subsections (a)
1-64 and (b) do not apply if information is obtained as provided by
2-1 Subsection (c).
2-2 SECTION 2. Section 34.002, Education Code, is amended to
2-3 read as follows:
2-4 Sec. 34.002. Safety Standards. (a) The [General Services
2-5 Commission, with the advice of the] Department of Public Safety,
2-6 with the advice of the General Services Commission and the Texas
2-7 Education Agency, shall establish safety standards for school buses
2-8 [motor vehicles] used to transport students in accordance with
2-9 Section 547.7015, Transportation Code [105, Uniform Act Regulating
2-10 Traffic on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-11 Statutes)].
2-12 (b) Each school district shall meet or exceed [comply with]
2-13 the safety standards for school buses [motor vehicles] established
2-14 [by the General Services Commission] under Subsection (a).
2-15 (c) A school district that fails or refuses to meet [comply
2-16 with] the safety standards for school buses established under this
2-17 section is ineligible to share in the transportation allotment
2-18 under Section 42.155 until the first anniversary of the date the
2-19 district begins complying with the safety standards.
2-20 SECTION 3. Section 34.003, Education Code, is amended to
2-21 read as follows:
2-22 Sec. 34.003. Operation of School Buses. (a) School buses
2-23 or mass transit authority motor buses shall be used for the
2-24 transportation of students to and from schools on [school bus]
2-25 routes having 10 or more students. On those [school bus] routes
2-26 having fewer than 10 students, passenger cars may be used for the
2-27 transportation of students to and from school.
2-28 (b) To transport students in connection with school
2-29 activities other than on [school bus] routes to and from school:
2-30 (1) only school buses or motor[,] buses [chartered
2-31 from motor bus companies, or district-owned buses meeting the
2-32 safety standards prescribed for vehicles used by motor bus
2-33 companies] may be used to transport 15 [10] or more students in any
2-34 one vehicle; and
2-35 (2) passenger cars or passenger vans may be used to
2-36 transport fewer than 15 [10] students.
2-37 (c) In all circumstances in which passenger cars or
2-38 passenger vans are used to transport students, the operator of the
2-39 vehicle shall ensure that the number of passengers in the vehicle
2-40 does not exceed the designed capacity of the vehicle and that each
2-41 passenger is secured by a safety belt.
2-42 SECTION 4. Section 34.008, Education Code, is amended to
2-43 read as follows:
2-44 Sec. 34.008. Contract With Transit Authority or Commercial
2-45 Transportation Company. (a) A board of county school trustees or
2-46 school district board of trustees may contract with a mass transit
2-47 authority or a commercial transportation company for all or any
2-48 part of a district's public school transportation if the authority
2-49 or company:
2-50 (1) requires its school bus drivers to have the
2-51 qualifications required by and to be certified in accordance with
2-52 standards established by the Department of Public Safety; and
2-53 (2) uses only those school buses or mass transit
2-54 authority buses [motor vehicles] in transporting 15 or more public
2-55 school students that meet or exceed [satisfy] safety standards for
2-56 school buses established under Section 547.7015, Transportation
2-57 Code [requirements imposed by law on school motor vehicles operated
2-58 by public school transportation systems].
2-59 (b) This section does not prohibit the county or school
2-60 district board from supplementing the state transportation cost
2-61 allotment with local funds necessary to provide complete
2-62 transportation services.
2-63 (c) A mass transit authority [or a commercial transportation
2-64 company] contracting under this section for daily transportation of
2-65 pre-primary, primary, or secondary students to or from school shall
2-66 conduct, in a manner and on a schedule approved by the county or
2-67 district school board, the following education programs:
2-68 (1) a program to inform the public that public school
2-69 students will be riding on the authority's or company's buses;
3-1 (2) a program to educate the drivers of the buses to
3-2 be used under the contract of the special needs and problems of
3-3 public school students riding on the buses; and
3-4 (3) a program to educate public school students on bus
3-5 riding safety and any special considerations arising from the use
3-6 of the authority's or company's buses.
3-7 [(d) In this section, "transit authority" includes a
3-8 transportation authority or a transit department.]
3-9 SECTION 5. Section 34.009(b), Education Code, is amended to
3-10 read as follows:
3-11 (b) A school bus that is leased or leased with an option to
3-12 purchase under this section must meet or exceed the safety
3-13 standards for school buses established under Section 547.7015,
3-14 Transportation Code [34.002].
3-15 SECTION 6. Section 521.022, Transportation Code, is amended
3-16 to read as follows:
3-17 Sec. 521.022. RESTRICTIONS ON OPERATORS OF CERTAIN SCHOOL
3-18 BUSES. (a) A person under 18 years of age may not operate [a
3-19 motor vehicle while that vehicle is in use as] a school bus for the
3-20 transportation of students [pupils to or from school].
3-21 (b) A person who is 18 years of age or older may not operate
3-22 [a motor vehicle while that vehicle is in use as] a school bus
3-23 unless the person holds an appropriate class of driver's license
3-24 for the vehicle being operated [a license to operate a school bus].
3-25 (c) A person may not [be employed to] operate [a motor
3-26 vehicle while that vehicle is in use as] a school bus for the
3-27 transportation of students [pupils] unless the person meets the
3-28 mental and physical capability requirements the department
3-29 establishes by rule and has passed an examination approved by the
3-30 department to determine the person's mental and physical
3-31 capabilities to operate a school bus safely. Each school bus
3-32 operator must pass the examination annually.
3-33 (d) A person may not operate a school bus for the
3-34 transportation of students unless [Before employing a person to
3-35 operate a school bus, a driver's license check shall be made with
3-36 the department and] the person's driving record is [must be]
3-37 acceptable according to minimum standards adopted [jointly
3-38 developed] by [the State Board of Education and] the department. A
3-39 check of the person's driving record shall be made with the
3-40 department annually.
3-41 (e) A person may not operate a school bus for the
3-42 transportation of students unless the person is certified in school
3-43 bus safety education or has enrolled in a school bus safety
3-44 education class under provisions adopted by the department.
3-45 Effective on the date and under provisions determined by the
3-46 department [State Board of Education], a school bus operator must
3-47 hold a card [certificate] that states that the operator is enrolled
3-48 in or has completed a driver training course [jointly] approved by
3-49 the [State Board of Education and the] department in school bus
3-50 safety education. The card [certificate] is valid for three years.
3-51 (f) Before a person is employed to operate a school bus to
3-52 transport students, the employer must obtain a criminal history
3-53 record check. A school district, school, service center, or shared
3-54 services arrangement, or a commercial transportation company under
3-55 contract with a school district, that obtains information that a
3-56 person has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving
3-57 moral turpitude may not employ the person to drive a school bus on
3-58 which students are transported unless the employment is approved by
3-59 the board of trustees of the school district or the board's
3-60 designee. In this subsection, "commercial transportation company"
3-61 has the meaning assigned by Section 34.0005, Education Code.
3-62 (g) This section does not affect the right of an otherwise
3-63 qualified person with a hearing disability to be licensed,
3-64 certified, and employed as a bus operator for vehicles used to
3-65 transport hearing-impaired students [persons].
3-66 (h) [(g)] This section does not apply to the operation of a
3-67 vehicle owned by a public institution of higher education to
3-68 transport students of a school district that operates within that
3-69 institution if:
4-1 (1) the person operating the vehicle is approved by
4-2 the institution to operate the vehicle; and
4-3 (2) the transportation is for a special event,
4-4 including a field trip.
4-5 SECTION 7. Sections 541.201(3), (12), and (15),
4-6 Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
4-7 (3) "Bus" means:
4-8 (A) a motor vehicle used to transport persons
4-9 and designed to accommodate more than 10 passengers, including the
4-10 operator; or
4-11 (B) a motor vehicle, other than a taxicab,
4-12 designed and used to transport persons for compensation.
4-13 (12) "Passenger car" means a motor vehicle, other than
4-14 a motorcycle, used to transport persons and designed to accommodate
4-15 10 or fewer passengers, including the operator.
4-16 (15) "School bus" means a bus designed to transport
4-17 more than 15 passengers, including the operator, and used for
4-18 purposes that include regularly transporting students to and from
4-19 school or school-related events. The term does not include a
4-20 school-chartered bus or a bus operated by a mass transit authority,
4-21 as those terms are defined by Section 34.0005, Education Code
4-22 [motor vehicle, other than a bus used in an urban area by a common
4-23 carrier to transport schoolchildren, that:]
4-24 [(A) is being used to transport children to or
4-25 from a school or school-related activity; and]
4-26 [(B) complies with the color and identification
4-27 requirements provided in the most recent edition of standards
4-28 produced and sponsored by the National Education Association's
4-29 National Commission on Safety Education].
4-30 SECTION 8. Section 545.066, Transportation Code, is amended
4-31 by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
4-32 follows:
4-33 (a) An operator on a highway, when approaching from either
4-34 direction a school bus stopped on the highway to receive or
4-35 discharge a student [schoolchild]:
4-36 (1) shall stop before reaching the school bus when the
4-37 bus is operating a visual signal as required by Section 547.701;
4-38 and
4-39 (2) may not proceed until:
4-40 (A) the school bus resumes motion;
4-41 (B) the operator is signaled by the bus driver
4-42 to proceed; or
4-43 (C) the visual signal is no longer actuated.
4-44 (f) For the purposes of this section:
4-45 (1) a highway is considered to have separate roadways
4-46 only if the highway has roadways separated by an intervening space
4-47 on which operation of vehicles is not permitted, a physical
4-48 barrier, or a clearly indicated dividing section constructed to
4-49 impede vehicular traffic; and
4-50 (2) a highway is not considered to have separate
4-51 roadways if the highway has roadways separated only by a left turn
4-52 lane.
4-53 SECTION 9. Section 545.253(a), Transportation Code, is
4-54 amended to read as follows:
4-55 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the operator of a
4-56 motor bus carrying passengers for hire [or of a school bus carrying
4-57 a schoolchild], before crossing a railroad grade crossing:
4-58 (1) shall stop the vehicle not closer than 15 feet or
4-59 farther than 50 feet from the nearest rail of the railroad;
4-60 (2) while stopped, shall listen and look in both
4-61 directions along the track for an approaching train and signals
4-62 indicating the approach of a train; and
4-63 (3) may not proceed until it is safe to do so.
4-64 SECTION 10. Subchapter F, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
4-65 is amended by adding Section 545.2535 to read as follows:
4-66 Sec. 545.2535. SCHOOL BUSES TO STOP AT ALL RAILROAD GRADE
4-67 CROSSINGS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the operator
4-68 of a school bus, before crossing a track at a railroad grade
4-69 crossing:
5-1 (1) shall stop the vehicle not closer than 15 feet or
5-2 farther than 50 feet from the track;
5-3 (2) while stopped, shall listen and look in both
5-4 directions along the track for an approaching train and signals
5-5 indicating the approach of a train; and
5-6 (3) may not proceed until it is safe to do so.
5-7 (b) After stopping as required by Subsection (a), the
5-8 operator may proceed in a gear that permits the vehicle to complete
5-9 the crossing without a change of gears. The operator may not shift
5-10 gears while crossing the track.
5-11 (c) An operator is not required to stop at:
5-12 (1) an abandoned railroad grade crossing that is
5-13 marked with a sign reading "tracks out of service"; or
5-14 (2) an industrial or spur line railroad grade crossing
5-15 that is marked with a sign reading "exempt."
5-16 (d) A sign under Subsection (c) may be erected only by or
5-17 with the consent of the appropriate state or local governmental
5-18 official.
5-19 SECTION 11. Section 547.701, Transportation Code, is amended
5-20 by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to
5-21 read as follows:
5-22 (b) A school bus may be equipped with:
5-23 (1) rooftop warning lamps:
5-24 (A) that conform to and are placed on the bus in
5-25 accordance with specifications adopted under Section 547.7015
5-26 [11.12, Education Code]; and
5-27 (B) that [which] may be operated only during
5-28 inclement weather when the bus is stopping or is stopped to load or
5-29 unload students [schoolchildren]; and
5-30 (2) movable stop arms:
5-31 (A) that conform to regulations adopted under
5-32 Section 547.7015 [11.12, Education Code]; and
5-33 (B) that [which] may be operated only when the
5-34 bus is stopped to load or unload students [schoolchildren].
5-35 (c) When a school bus is being stopped or is stopped on a
5-36 highway to permit students to board or exit the bus, the operator
5-37 of the bus shall activate all flashing warning signal lights and
5-38 other equipment on the bus designed to warn other drivers that the
5-39 bus is stopping to load or unload children. A person may not
5-40 operate such a light or other equipment except when the bus is
5-41 being stopped or is stopped on a highway to permit students to
5-42 board or exit the bus [A school bus operator shall activate the
5-43 warning equipment designed to warn other vehicle operators that the
5-44 bus is stopping to load or unload children, including flashing
5-45 warning signal lamps, when the bus is stopping or stopped to load
5-46 or unload schoolchildren. A person may not activate the warning
5-47 equipment at any other time].
5-48 (d) The exterior of a school bus may not bear advertising or
5-49 another paid announcement directed at the public if the advertising
5-50 or announcement distracts from the effectiveness of required safety
5-51 warning equipment. The department shall adopt rules to implement
5-52 this subsection. A school bus that violates this section or rules
5-53 adopted under this section shall be placed out of service until it
5-54 complies.
5-55 SECTION 12. Section 411.097, Government Code, is amended to
5-56 read as follows:
5-57 Sec. 411.097. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION:
5-58 SCHOOL DISTRICT, CHARTER SCHOOL, PRIVATE SCHOOL, REGIONAL EDUCATION
5-59 SERVICE CENTER, COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, OR EDUCATION
5-60 SHARED SERVICES ARRANGEMENT. (a) A school district, charter
5-61 school, private school, regional education service center,
5-62 commercial transportation company, or education shared services
5-63 arrangement is entitled to obtain from the department criminal
5-64 history record information maintained by the department that the
5-65 district, school, service center, or shared services arrangement is
5-66 required or authorized to obtain under Subchapter C, Chapter 22,
5-67 Education Code, that relates to a person who is:
5-68 (1) an applicant for employment by the district,
5-69 school, service center, or shared services arrangement; or
6-1 (2) an employee of or an applicant for employment with
6-2 a public or commercial transportation company that contracts with
6-3 the district, school, service center, or shared services
6-4 arrangement to provide transportation services if the employee
6-5 drives or the applicant will drive a bus in which students are
6-6 transported or is employed or is seeking employment as a bus
6-7 monitor or bus aide on a bus in which students are transported.
6-8 (b) A school district, charter school, private school,
6-9 regional education service center, or education shared services
6-10 arrangement is entitled to obtain from the department, no more than
6-11 twice each year, criminal history record information maintained by
6-12 the department that the district, school, service center, or shared
6-13 services arrangement is required or authorized to obtain under
6-14 Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Education Code, that relates to a person
6-15 who is a volunteer or employee of the district, school, service
6-16 center, or shared services arrangement.
6-17 (c) Criminal history record information obtained by a school
6-18 district, charter school, private school, service center,
6-19 commercial transportation company, or shared services arrangement
6-20 under Subsection (a) or (b) may not be released or disclosed to any
6-21 person, other than the individual who is the subject of the
6-22 information, the Texas Education Agency, the State Board for
6-23 Educator Certification, or the chief personnel officer of the
6-24 transportation company, if the information is obtained under
6-25 Subsection (a)(2).
6-26 (d) If a regional education service center or commercial
6-27 transportation company that receives criminal history record
6-28 information from the department under this section requests the
6-29 information by providing to the department a list, including the
6-30 name, date of birth, and any other personal descriptive information
6-31 required by the department for each person, through electronic
6-32 means, magnetic tape, or disk, as specified by the department, the
6-33 department may not charge the service center or commercial
6-34 transportation company more than the lesser of:
6-35 (1) the department's cost for providing the
6-36 information; or
6-37 (2) the amount prescribed by another law.
6-38 SECTION 13. (a) In addition to the substantive changes in
6-39 law made by this Act, this Act conforms the Transportation Code to
6-40 changes in law made by Sections 55 and 56, Chapter 260, and Section
6-41 25, Chapter 1009, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session,
6-42 1995.
6-43 (b) To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over
6-44 another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
6-45 relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
6-46 codes.
6-47 SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
6-48 SECTION 15. The importance of this legislation and the
6-49 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-50 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-51 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-52 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
6-53 * * * * *