SECTIONS 39830-39842 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 39830-39842

39830. A schoolbus is any motor vehicle designed, used, or
maintained for the transportation of a school pupil at or below the
grade 12 level to or from a public or private school or to or from
public or private school activities, except the following:
(a) A motor vehicle of any type carrying only members of the
household of its owner.
(b) A motortruck transporting pupils who are seated only in the
passenger compartment, and a passenger vehicle designed for and when
actually carrying not more than 10 persons, including the driver,
except any vehicle or truck transporting two or more pupils who use
wheelchairs.
(c) A motor vehicle operated by a common carrier, or by and under
exclusive jurisdiction of a publicly owned or operated transit
system, only during the time it is on a scheduled run and is
available to the general public or on a run scheduled in response to
a request from a pupil who uses a wheelchair, or from a parent of the
pupil, for transportation to or from nonschool activities. However,
the motor vehicle is designed for and actually carries not more than
16 persons and the driver, is available to eligible persons of the
general public, and the school does not provide the requested
transportation service.
(d) A school pupil activity bus as defined in Section 39830.1.
(e) A motor vehicle operated by a carrier licensed by the
Interstate Commerce Commission that is transporting pupils on a
school activity entering or returning to the state from another state
or country.
(f) A state-owned motor vehicle being operated by a state employee
upon the driveways, paths, parking facilities, or grounds specified
in Section 21113 of the Vehicle Code that are under the control of a
state hospital under the jurisdiction of the State Department of
Developmental Services where the posted speed limit is not more than
20 miles per hour. The motor vehicle may also be operated for a
distance of not more than one-quarter mile upon a public street or
highway that runs through the grounds of a state hospital under the
jurisdiction of the State Department of Developmental Services, if
the posted speed limit on the public street or highway is not more
than 25 miles per hour and if all traffic is regulated by posted stop
signs or official traffic control signals at the points of entry and
exit by the motor vehicle.

39830.1. A "school pupil activity bus" means any motor vehicle,
other than a schoolbus, operated by a common carrier, or by and under
the exclusive jurisdiction of a publicly owned or operated transit
system, or by a passenger charter-party carrier, used under a
contractual agreement between a school and carrier to transport
school pupils at or below the 12th grade level to or from a public or
private school activity, or used to transport pupils to or from
residential schools, when the pupils are received and discharged at
off-highway locations where a parent or adult designated by the
parent is present to accept the pupil or place the pupil on the bus.
As used in this section, "common carrier," "publicly owned or
operated transit system," and "passenger charter-party carrier" mean
carriers in business for the principal purpose of transporting
members of the public on a commercial basis. This section shall not
apply to a motor vehicle operated by a carrier licensed by the
Interstate Commerce Commission transporting pupils on a school
activity trip entering or returning to the state from another state
or country.
The driver of a school pupil activity bus shall be subject to the
regulations adopted by the Department of the California Highway
Patrol governing schoolbus drivers, except that the regulations shall
not require drivers to duplicate training or schooling that they
have otherwise received that is equivalent to that required pursuant
to the regulations, and the regulations may not require drivers to
take training in first aid. However, a valid certificate to drive a
school pupil activity bus does not entitle the bearer to drive a
schoolbus.

39831. (a) The State Board of Education shall adopt reasonable
regulations relating to the use of schoolbuses by school districts
and others. The regulations may not govern the safe operation of
schoolbuses that shall be adopted instead by the Department of the
California Highway Patrol.
(b) The Department of the California Highway Patrol shall adopt
regulations pursuant to Section 34500 of the Vehicle Code relating to
the safe operation of schoolbuses that shall also require school
district governing boards to include in their schoolbus driver
training programs, the proper actions to be taken in the event that a
schoolbus is hijacked.

39831.3. (a) The county superintendent of schools, the
superintendent of a school district, or the owner or operator of a
private school that provides transportation to or from a school or
school activity shall prepare a transportation safety plan containing
procedures for school personnel to follow to ensure the safe
transport of pupils. The plan shall be revised as required. The plan
shall address all of the following:
(1) Determining if pupils require escort pursuant to paragraph (3)
of subdivision (c) of Section 22112 of the Vehicle Code.
(2) (A) Procedures for all pupils in prekindergarten,
kindergarten, and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to follow as they board
and exit the appropriate schoolbus at each pupil's schoolbus stop.
(B) Nothing in this paragraph requires a county superintendent of
schools, the superintendent of a school district, or the owner or
operator of a private school that provides transportation to or from
a school or school activity, to use the services of an onboard
schoolbus monitor, in addition to the driver, to carry out the
purposes of this paragraph.
(3) Boarding and exiting a schoolbus at a school or other trip
destination.
(b) A current copy of a plan prepared pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be retained by each school subject to the plan and made
available upon request to an officer of the Department of the
California Highway Patrol.

39831.5. (a) All pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and
grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in public or private school who are
transported in a schoolbus or school pupil activity bus shall receive
instruction in schoolbus emergency procedures and passenger safety.
The county superintendent of schools, superintendent of the school
district, or owner/operator of a private school, as applicable, shall
ensure that the instruction is provided as follows:
(1) Upon registration, the parents or guardians of all pupils not
previously transported in a schoolbus or school pupil activity bus
and who are in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 6,
inclusive, shall be provided with written information on schoolbus
safety. The information shall include, but not be limited to, all of
the following:
(A) A list of schoolbus stops near each pupil's home.
(B) General rules of conduct at schoolbus loading zones.
(C) Red light crossing instructions.
(D) Schoolbus danger zone.
(E) Walking to and from schoolbus stops.
(2) At least once in each school year, all pupils in
prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, who
receive home-to-school transportation shall receive safety
instruction that includes, but is not limited to, proper loading and
unloading procedures, including escorting by the driver, how to
safely cross the street, highway, or private road, instruction on the
use of passenger restraint systems, as described in paragraph (3),
proper passenger conduct, bus evacuation, and location of emergency
equipment. Instruction also may include responsibilities of
passengers seated next to an emergency exit. As part of the
instruction, pupils shall evacuate the schoolbus through emergency
exit doors.
(3) Instruction on the use of passenger restraint systems, when a
passenger restraint system is installed, shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(A) Proper fastening and release of the passenger restraint
system.
(B) Acceptable placement of passenger restraint systems on pupils.
(C) Times at which the passenger restraint systems should be
fastened and released.
(D) Acceptable placement of the passenger restraint systems when
not in use.
(4) Prior to departure on a school activity trip, all pupils
riding on a schoolbus or school pupil activity bus shall receive
safety instruction that includes, but is not limited to, location of
emergency exits, and location and use of emergency equipment.
Instruction also may include responsibilities of passengers seated
next to an emergency exit.
(b) The following information shall be documented each time the
instruction required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) is given:
(1) Name of school district, county office of education, or
private school.
(2) Name and location of school.
(3) Date of instruction.
(4) Names of supervising adults.
(5) Number of pupils participating.
(6) Grade levels of pupils.
(7) Subjects covered in instruction.
(8) Amount of time taken for instruction.
(9) Busdriver's name.
(10) Bus number.
(11) Additional remarks.
The information recorded pursuant to this subdivision shall remain
on file at the district or county office, or at the school, for one
year from the date of the instruction, and shall be subject to
inspection by the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

39832. The name or names of the particular school or schools to
which a schoolbus conveys pupils may be painted on the side of the
bus, in the manner prescribed by the Department of the California
Highway Patrol.

39833. Any officer, agent, or employee of a school district, or any
other person knowingly operating, or permitting or directing the
operation of a schoolbus in violation of any regulation or order of
the Department of the California Highway Patrol, and any person
knowingly operating a schoolbus without possessing the qualifications
required by the Department of the California Highway Patrol for
schoolbus operators, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

39834. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any officer,
agent, or employee of a school district, office of the county
superintendent of schools, or joint powers agency, or any other
person, knowingly operating, or permitting or directing the operation
of a schoolbus, when it is loaded with schoolchildren in excess of
the limits of its seating capacity, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) The governing board of any school district, office of the
county superintendent of schools, or joint powers agency may adopt a
district policy establishing plans for the evacuation of pupils in
case of any emergency that may provide, where necessary, for the
loading of schoolchildren on a schoolbus in excess of the limits of
its seating capacity.
(c) As used in this section, "emergency" means a natural disaster
or hazard that requires pupils to be moved immediately in order to
ensure their safety.

39835. (a) The governing board of any school district may use
schoolbuses to transport persons for purposes of community recreation
as provided in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 10900) of Part 7.
The transportation may be provided on any day or days throughout the
school year.
(b) Any school district that files forms with the Superintendent
of Public Instruction covering the annual report of transportation
expense in connection with reimbursement for transportation shall
show on the forms the total mileage of schoolbuses used in providing
transportation for community recreation purposes. The Superintendent
of Public Instruction, in accordance with regulations adopted by him
or her, shall deduct from the allowances to a school district for
transportation an amount equal to the depreciation of schoolbuses due
to their use in transporting persons for community recreation.

39836. During any national emergency declared by the President of
the United States of America or during any war in which the United
States of America is engaged, the governing board of a school
district may operate any bus owned or under lease to the district for
the transportation of pupils of the district engaged in the
harvesting of crops to and from the places of harvest and shall
require the payment of a reasonable charge for transportation
furnished.

39837. The governing board of any school district may use and
operate any bus owned or under lease to the district for the
transportation of pupils to and from their places of employment
during the summer in connection with any summer employment program
for youth. The governing board shall require the payment of a
reasonable charge for transportation so furnished. The governing
board shall, in accordance with Section 35208, adequately insure
against the liability of the district, members of the board, and
officers and employees of the district in connection with the
furnishing of transportation.

39837.5. The governing board of any school district may provide for
the transportation of employees of the district and of parents of
pupils of the district to and from educational activities authorized
by the district.

39838. (a) Each schoolbus shall be equipped with one or more fire
extinguishers bearing the approval of the laboratories of the
National Board of Fire Underwriters, Underwriters' Laboratories
Incorporated, or any other nationally recognized testing laboratory,
and located in an easily accessible place in the driver's
compartment.
(b) Each schoolbus shall be equipped with one or more fire
extinguishers with an aggregate rating of at least 8-B, C units, as
rated by the Underwriters' Laboratories Incorporated. Carbon
tetrachloride fire extinguishers may not be used on schoolbuses.

39839. Guide dogs, signal dogs, and service dogs trained to provide
assistance to individuals with a disability may be transported in a
schoolbus when accompanied by disabled pupils enrolled in a public or
private school or by disabled teachers employed in a public or
private school or community college or by persons training the dogs.

39840. The governing board of any school district may enter into a
contract under the terms of which the school district grants the use
of any schoolbus that is owned or leased by the school district to
any federal, state, or local governmental agency for the purpose of
providing transportation for employees of the agency to or from their
places of employment, or both, if the following conditions are
satisfied:
(a) Public transportation is not reasonably available to the
agency's employees at their place of employment.
(b) The school district normally provides transportation for
pupils residing on the governmental agency's property to or from
school, or both.
(c) The transportation of the agency's employees does not
interfere with the school district's use of schoolbuses for school
transportation purposes.
(d) All schoolbus warning lights and exterior lettering or signs
that identify the bus as a schoolbus are covered or removed during
operation by the federal, state, or local governmental agency.
(e) Mechanical condition of a schoolbus during operation by the
federal, state, or local governmental agency is maintained so as to
meet or exceed those regulations promulgated by the State Department
of Education pursuant to Section 39831 governing the operation of
schoolbuses.
(f) Accurate records are maintained that reflect the actual number
of miles any schoolbus is driven during times of operation by the
federal, state, or local governmental agency, which records are to be
made available to the Superintendent of Public Instruction in
connection with the annual report of transportation expense made by
the school district. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, in
accordance with Section 39835, shall deduct from the allowances to a
school district for transportation an amount equal to the
depreciation of schoolbuses due to their use in transporting
employees of a federal, state, or local governmental agency pursuant
to this section.

39841. The following requirements shall be included in any
agreement entered into between a school district and a publicly owned
transit system under which the school district grants the use of any
schoolbus that is owned or leased by it to the transit system for
public transportation purposes:
(a) All schoolbus warning lights and exterior lettering or signs
that identify the bus as a schoolbus are covered or removed during
operation by the transit system.
(b) Mechanical condition of a schoolbus during operation by the
transit system is maintained so as to meet or exceed those
regulations adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to
Section 39831 governing the operation of schoolbuses.
(c) Accurate records are maintained that reflect the actual number
of miles any schoolbus is driven during times of operation by the
transit system.

39842. (a) Any person who enters a schoolbus or school pupil
activity bus without prior authorization of the driver or other
school official with intent to commit any crime and who refuses to
disembark after being ordered to do so by the driver or other school
official is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment
in the county jail for not more than six months, by a fine of not
more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both.
(b) A school district or county superintendent of schools may
place a notice at the entrance of a schoolbus or school pupil
activity bus that complies with the requirements of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (c) of Section 1256.5 of Title 13 of the California Code
of Regulations and that warns against unauthorized entry.