House Bill 5243
Sponsor: Rep. Samuel Thomas III
Committee: Education
Complete to 2-2-00
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5243 AS INTRODUCED 2-1-00
House Bill 5243 would amend the Pupil Transportation Act to require school bus safety training for students. Currently the law allows a school to provide instruction on proper school bus etiquette which may include, but not be limited to, boarding and leaving the bus, evacuation of the bus in an emergency, and road crossing procedures and the correct hand signal in the district, if any. Current law also specifies that if a school uses school bus drivers for this instruction, the state board may reimburse the school for this training. House Bill 5243 would delete this subsection, provide new bus safety training requirements, and then reinsert the provision that allows the state board to reimburse the school for the training, if a school uses school bus drivers for the new instruction.
House Bill 5243 would require that upon registration, the parent or parents or guardian of each student not previously transported in a school bus who is in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or grades one to six, be provided with written information on school bus safety and conduct. The information would include, but need not be limited to: a) a list of school bus stops near each student's home; b) general rules of conduct at school bus loading zones; c) red light crossing instructions; and, d) walking to and from school bus stops.
Under the bill, at least once each year, each student who received transportation in a school bus who was in prekindergarten through eighth grade would receive safety instruction that included, but would not be limited to: a) proper loading and unloading procedures; b) instruction on the use of the passenger restraint system, if available; c) proper passenger conduct; and d) bus evacuation and the location of emergency equipment and exits. As part of this instruction, students would be required to practice evacuating the bus through the emergency exit doors.
Further, the bill would require that certain information be documented each time safety instruction is given, to include the following information: a) name of the school district; b) name and location of the school; c) date of instruction; d) the names of supervising adults; e) the number of students participating; f) the grade levels of the students; g) the subjects covered in the instruction; h) the amount of time taken for the instruction; I) the correct hand signal in the district, if any; j) the bus driver's name; k) the bus number; l) the date of the last inspection of the school bus; and, m) additional remarks.
Finally, House Bill 5243 would require that the information recorded under this subsection remain on file at the school for one year from the date of instruction and be subject to review by the Department of State Police.
MCL 257.1855
Analyst: J. Hunault