Revision: May 3, 2024, 8:29 a.m.
SB 443-FN - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
02/15/2024 0515s
2024 SESSION
24-3063
02/10
SENATE BILL 443-FN
AN ACT relative to the definition of school transportation vehicle.
SPONSORS: Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Rep. Brennan, Merr. 9; Rep. M. Cahill, Rock. 10
COMMITTEE: Education
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill defines school transportation vehicle and implements licensing and inspection requirements for drivers of such vehicles.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
02/15/2024 0515s 24-3063
02/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to the definition of school transportation vehicle.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; School Transportation Vehicle. Amend RSA 259 by inserting after section 96-a the following new section:
259:96-b School Transportation Vehicle. “School transportation vehicle” shall mean a private passenger vehicle as defined by RSA 259:81, which is used by an employee or subcontractor of a company focused exclusively on providing student transportation solutions to transport school children to and from nonpublic or public school and school-related activities while under contract with a municipality, municipal board, or educational institutions.
2 New Section; Pupils Transported in a School Transportation Vehicle. Amend RSA 189 by inserting after section 6-e the following new section:
189:6-f Pupils Transported in a School Transportation Vehicle.
I. Pupils may be transported to or from school and school-related activities in a school transportation vehicle as defined by RSA 259:96-b, which is approved by the division of motor vehicles of the department of safety and operated by a driver who holds a valid school bus driver’s certificate as provided in RSA 263:29, in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to RSA 265:58.
II. The department of education, a school district, or a private school may contract with a provider of school transportation vehicle services.
III. Pupils with disabilities may be transported to or from school and school-related activities in a school transportation vehicle unless the pupil's individualized education program as defined in RSA 186-C:2, III, or the pupil's accommodation plan pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. section 794, states that such a vehicle shall not be used.
3 School Bus Driver's Certificate. Amend RSA 263:29 to read as follows:
263:29 School Bus Driver's Certificate. The owner of any school bus or provider of school transportation vehicle services transporting children to and from any private or public school, or the owner of any bus owned or used by a religious organization or a nonprofit organization used exclusively as a bus for the transportation of its members in connection with functions of the organization, shall submit to the authorities in the town or city or to the organization which pays for said transportation a list of names of the persons who are to drive the buses or school transportation vehicles used in such transportation. Such authority shall submit the list of names to the department requesting an investigation of each driver's criminal and motor vehicle record. If such driver is found to be qualified to bear the responsibility of such transportation, the division shall cause said driver to be examined under the rules adopted pursuant to RSA 265:58. No person shall drive a school bus or school transportation vehicle unless he has satisfactorily passed the special examination for said driving and received from the division a special school bus driver's certificate for a school bus or school transportation vehicle. The director may revoke such special school bus driver's certificate for good cause shown.
4 School Bus Driver Qualification Files. Amend RSA 263:29-a to read as follows:
263:29-a School Bus Driver Qualification Files.
I. The employer of a school bus driver or provider of school transportation vehicle services shall maintain, and the department shall have access to, a file on each person qualified to operate a school bus or school transportation vehicle as provided in RSA 263:29. Except in the case of contents not applicable to or required of providers of school transportation vehicle services under rules adopted by the director, the file shall include the following:
(a) The driver's application for employment.
(b) The medical examiner's certificate.
(c) The results of the driver road test, if such test is otherwise required by law.
(d) Certifications of road test, if otherwise required by law.
(e) Annual driver certification of violations.
(f) Inquiry to previous employers, covering the 3 years prior to the driver's application for employment.
(g) Inquiry to state agencies.
(h) Annual review of driving record.
(i) Controlled substances test results, if otherwise required by law.
(j) Driver training documentation.
(k) Copy of driver license and school bus certificate.
II. In addition to other rulemaking authority provided by law, the commissioner shall have authority to adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to the operation of school buses and school transportation vehicles as well as the requirements for and filing of [school bus] accident reports.
5 Inspection of School Buses. Amend RSA 266:7 to read as follows:
266:7 Inspection of School Buses. The director shall have authority, through his duly authorized agents, to inspect any motor vehicle used for the purpose of transporting school children to any school to determine its fitness for such purpose, and if he finds that such vehicle is unfit, he may refuse to permit it to be designated as a school bus or student transportation vehicle. Said inspection shall be made before any motor vehicle transporting school children to any school is used for said transportation. The director shall cause to be issued some identification if such vehicle is approved as a school bus or school transportation vehicle.
6 School Bus Driver Criminal History Records Check. Amend RSA 189:13-b to read as follows:
189:13-b School Bus Driver Criminal History Records Check.
I. The department shall complete a criminal history records check on all school bus or school transportation vehicle drivers as would school administrative units, school districts, and chartered public schools pursuant to RSA 189:13-a.
II. The selected applicant for employment or designated volunteer with a school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy in a school bus driver or school transportation vehicle position shall submit to the department a criminal history records release form, as provided by the division of state police, which authorizes the division of state police to conduct a criminal history records check through its state records and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to release a report of the applicant's criminal history record information, including confidential criminal history record information, to the background check coordinator of the department, as described in RSA 21-N:8-a, I-a.
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
24-3063
Amended 2/16/24
SB 443-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2024-0515s)
AN ACT relative to the definition of school transportation vehicle.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ X ] None
METHODOLOGY:
This bill defines school transportation vehicle and implements licensing and inspection requirements for drivers of such vehicles. These changes are not expected to have a fiscal impact.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Safety and Department of Education