§ 115C-244. Assignment of pupils to school buses. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 115C‑244. Assignment of pupils to school buses.

(a)        The superintendent or superintendent's designee shall assignthe pupils and employees who may be transported to and from school upon the busor buses assigned to each school and shall implement and enforce the plandeveloped under G.S. 115C‑246. No pupil or employee shall be permitted toride upon any school bus to which such pupil or employee has not been soassigned by the superintendent or superintendent's designee, except by theexpress direction of the superintendent or superintendent's designee.

(b)        In the event that the superintendent or superintendent'sdesignee assigns a school bus to be used in the transportation of pupils to twoor more schools, the superintendent or superintendent's designee shall assignthe pupils to be transported to and from each school by that bus, and theprincipals of the respective schools shall implement and enforce thisassignment of pupils.

(c)        Any pupil enrolled in any school, or the parent or guardianof any such pupil, or the person standing in loco parentis to such pupil, mayapply to the principal of such school for transportation of such pupil to andfrom such school by school bus for the regularly organized school day. Theprincipal shall deliver the application to the superintendent orsuperintendent's designee, who shall assign a pupil to a school bus if thepupil is entitled to school bus transportation under this Article and the rulesof the State Board of Education. Such assignment shall be made by the superintendentor superintendent's designee so as to provide for the orderly, safe andefficient transportation of pupils to such school and so as to promote theorderly and efficient administration of the school and the health, safety andgeneral welfare of the pupils to be so transported. Assignments of pupils andemployees to school buses may be changed by the superintendent orsuperintendent's designee as he may from time to time find proper for the safeand efficient transportation of such pupils and employees.

(d)        The parent or guardian of any pupil enrolled in any school,or the person standing in loco parentis to any such pupil, who shall applyunder subsection (c) of this section for the transportation of such pupil toand from such school by school bus, may, if such application is denied, or ifsuch pupil is assigned to a school bus not satisfactory to such parent,guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to such pupil, pursuant to rulesand regulations established by the local board of education, apply to suchboard for such transportation upon a school bus designated in such application,and shall be entitled to a prompt and fair hearing by such board in accordancewith the rules and regulations established by it. The majority of such boardshall be a quorum for the purpose of holding such hearing and passing upon suchapplication, and the decision of the majority of the members present at suchhearing shall be the decision of the board. If, at such hearing, the boardshall find that pupil is entitled to be transported to and from such schoolupon the school bus designated in such application, or if the board shall findthat the transportation of such pupil upon such bus to and from such schoolwill be for the best interests of such pupil, will not interfere with theproper administration of such school, or with the safe and efficienttransportation by school bus of other pupils enrolled in such school and willnot endanger the health or safety of the children there enrolled, the boardshall direct that such child be assigned to and transported to such school uponsuch bus.

(e)        A decision of a local board under subsection (d) is finaland, except as provided in this subsection, is subject to judicial review inaccordance with Article 4 of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes. A personseeking judicial review shall file a petition in the superior court of thecounty where the local board made its decision.

(f)         No employee shall be assigned to or permitted to ride upona school bus when to do so will result in the overcrowding of such bus or willprevent the assignment to such bus of a pupil entitled to ride thereon, or willotherwise, in the opinion of the superintendent or superintendent's designee,be detrimental to the comfort or safety of the pupils assigned to such bus, orto the safe, efficient and proper operation of such bus. (1955, c. 1372, art. 21, s. 5; 1981, c. 423, s. 1;1987, c. 827, ss. 47, 48; 1998‑220, s. 3.)