Section 39834 - Operating or permitting operation of bus in excess of limits of seating capacity(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.Added 10/10/1999 (Bill Number: AB 1600) (Chapter 646).