AN ACT
1-1 relating to the transportation of public school students.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Section 34.003, Education Code, is amended by
1-4 amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
1-5 to read as follows:
1-6 (b) To transport students in connection with school
1-7 activities other than on school bus routes to and from school:
1-8 (1) only school buses or motor[,] buses [chartered
1-9 from motor bus companies, or district-owned buses meeting the
1-10 safety standards prescribed for vehicles used by motor bus
1-11 companies] may be used to transport 15 [10] or more students in any
1-12 one vehicle; and
1-13 (2) passenger cars or passenger vans may be used to
1-14 transport fewer than 15 [10] students.
1-15 (c) In all circumstances in which passenger cars or
1-16 passenger vans are used to transport students, the operator of the
1-17 vehicle shall ensure that the number of passengers in the vehicle
1-18 does not exceed the designed capacity of the vehicle and that each
1-19 passenger is secured by a safety belt.
1-20 (d) In this section, "passenger van" means a motor vehicle,
1-21 other than a motorcycle or passenger car, used to transport persons
1-22 and designed to transport 15 or fewer passengers, including the
1-23 driver.
2-1 (e) "Motor bus" means a vehicle designed to transport more
2-2 than 15 passengers, including the driver.
2-3 SECTION 2. Section 34.004, Education Code, is amended to
2-4 read as follows:
2-5 Sec. 34.004. STANDING CHILDREN. A school district may not
2-6 require or allow a child to stand on a school bus or passenger van
2-7 that is in motion.
2-8 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 11.158, Education Code,
2-9 is amended to read as follows:
2-10 (a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
2-11 may require payment of:
2-12 (1) a fee for materials used in any program in which
2-13 the resultant product in excess of minimum requirements becomes, at
2-14 the student's option, the personal property of the student, if the
2-15 fee does not exceed the cost of materials;
2-16 (2) membership dues in student organizations or clubs
2-17 and admission fees or charges for attending extracurricular
2-18 activities, if membership or attendance is voluntary;
2-19 (3) a security deposit for the return of materials,
2-20 supplies, or equipment;
2-21 (4) a fee for personal physical education and athletic
2-22 equipment and apparel, although any student may provide the
2-23 student's own equipment or apparel if it meets reasonable
2-24 requirements and standards relating to health and safety
2-25 established by the board;
3-1 (5) a fee for items of personal use or products that a
3-2 student may purchase at the student's option, such as student
3-3 publications, class rings, annuals, and graduation announcements;
3-4 (6) a fee specifically permitted by any other statute;
3-5 (7) a fee for an authorized voluntary student health
3-6 and accident benefit plan;
3-7 (8) a reasonable fee, not to exceed the actual annual
3-8 maintenance cost, for the use of musical instruments and uniforms
3-9 owned or rented by the district;
3-10 (9) a fee for items of personal apparel that become
3-11 the property of the student and that are used in extracurricular
3-12 activities;
3-13 (10) a parking fee or a fee for an identification
3-14 card;
3-15 (11) a fee for a driver training course, not to exceed
3-16 the actual district cost per student in the program for the current
3-17 school year;
3-18 (12) a fee for a course offered for credit that
3-19 requires the use of facilities not available on the school premises
3-20 or the employment of an educator who is not part of the school's
3-21 regular staff, if participation in the course is at the student's
3-22 option; [or]
3-23 (13) a fee for a course offered during summer school,
3-24 except that the board may charge a fee for a course required for
3-25 graduation only if the course is also offered without a fee during
4-1 the regular school year; or
4-2 (14) a reasonable fee for transportation of a student
4-3 who lives within two miles of the school the student attends to and
4-4 from that school, except that the board may not charge a fee for
4-5 transportation for which the school district receives funds under
4-6 Section 42.155(d).
4-7 SECTION 4. This Act becomes effective with the 1997-1998
4-8 school year.
4-9 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-14 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-15 passage, and it is so enacted.
S.B. No. 517
________________________________ ________________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 517 passed the Senate on
April 17, 1997, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0;
May 29, 1997, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 30, 1997, House
granted request of the Senate; June 1, 1997, Senate adopted
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 25,
Nays 0.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 517 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 26, 1997, by the following vote: Yeas 144,
Nays 0, one present not voting; May 30, 1997, House granted request
of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
June 1, 1997, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, two present not voting.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
________________________________
Date
________________________________
Governor