La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § CXIII-303

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section CXIII-303 - Certification of School Bus Drivers

A. The term school bus drivers included in this Section includes anyone who is certified to transport students to and from school and school-related activities. Full-time drivers, substitute drivers (including bus attendants who may also be certified to drive in emergency situations), activity bus drivers (teachers, coaches, custodians, etc.), and any other person who is employed by the school district or by a private entity that has contracted with the school district to provide student transportation services and who at any time transports students must be certified prior to transporting students.

B. Initial and Annual Certification

1. Initial certification of new applicants and annual certification of existing school bus drivers must be conducted by LEAs on all full-time and substitute school bus drivers. Documentation of those components required for initial certification must be verified and kept on file for all school bus drivers each year.

C. The following requirements are minimum requirements for certification of all school bus drivers in Louisiana; however, LEAs may establish additional criteria for driving personnel and/or bus attendants.

1. Drivers must be 21 years of age or older.

2. Initial applicants must undergo a criminal record check, including finger printing, as described in R.S. 17:15 and R.S. 15:587.1

3. All drivers must have a current and acceptable driving record verified by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Motor Vehicles as required by R.S. 17:491.1, verified by the LEAs transportation supervisor, and maintained in the driver's permanent record. Additionally, these drivers must report moving violation convictions in accordance with CDL requirements.

a. No driver or applicant shall be employed as a school bus driver if within the past five years, he/she has been convicted of, or has forfeited a bond on, any charge of:

i. DUI, possession, distribution, or use of a controlled dangerous substance, as defined by R.S. 40:963 et seq.;

ii. leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury or fatality; or

iii. any felony involving the use of a motor vehicle.

4. Drivers must have a commercial driver's license (CDL) issued by the state of residence, which includes a Passenger (P) and School Bus (S) endorsement. Airbrake authorization may also be required.

5. Drivers must pass a physical and eye examination meeting current CDL requirements annually. A copy of the examination record must be filed with the LEA transportation office before the beginning of each school year. More extensive and/or more frequent exams may be required by the LEA, Head Start or private employer. All school bus drivers must be certified as having normal use of both hands, both arms, both feet, both legs and must possess normal or corrected vision of 20/40 in both eyes, with a field of vision of at least 150 degrees. They must have corrected or normal hearing, be free of communicable disease and of mental, emotion or functional disorders.

a. After a heart attack or other serious illness, a certificate of health and permission to return to work from a licensed physician must be presented and filed with the transportation office and maintained in the drivers record. Local school boards may require such certification, as well as all annual physical examinations, to be approved by board-appointed physicians, who also may be required to meet requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

6. Drivers must pass initial drug and alcohol screening requirements and United States Department of Transportation-directed random testing, as specified by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. More stringent requirements may be imposed by individual LEAs and/or private contractors.

7. Initial applicants must complete the following pre-service instruction requirements.

a. Each LEA must provide services for applicants to meet the minimum requirements for certification prior to transporting students on a school bus as outlined in the Louisiana School Bus Operator Training manual promulgated by the DOE.

b. Initial applicants must complete the 44-hour pre-service phase of the school bus driver training program which includes 30 hours of pre-service instruction provided by a DOE-certified school bus operator instructor, four hours of vehicle familiarization, and 10 hours of on-the-bus training.

8. Annual or bi-annual in-service training for continued certification of school bus drivers must be conducted by the LEA. School bus drivers, including substitute drivers and activity drivers, must complete eight hours of in-service training within a two-year period. The eight hours of training may be provided in four hour annual in-service training opportunities each year.

D. Documentation of certification of school bus drivers must be maintained by the LEA.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § CXIII-303

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 25:628 (April 1999), amended LR 36:1467 (July 2010), LR 37:2122 (July 2011), LR 38:749 (March 2012), LR 39:80 (January 2013), LR 40:2516 (12/1/2014).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:158, R.S. 17:160-161, R.S. 17:164-166, R.S. 17:492, and 17:493.