281—43.10(285) Permitted uses listed. School buses may be used to transport pupils under the following conditions:
	43.10(1) The program is a part of the regular or extracurricular program of a public school and has been so adopted and made a matter of record in the minutes of all the boards involved.
	43.10(2) The pupils are enrolled in a public or accredited nonpublic school.
	43.10(3) The program or activity is sponsored by a school or group of schools cooperatively and is under the direct control of a qualified staff member of a school district.
	43.10(4) The bus will be driven by an approved driver holding an appropriate driver’s license and a school bus driver’s authorization. In addition, the buses will be accompanied by a member of the faculty or other employee of the school or a parent or other adult volunteer as authorized by a school administrator who will be responsible for the conduct and the general supervision of the pupils on the bus and at the place of the activity. This person shall ride the bus. If the faculty member is an approved driver, that person can act both as a driver and faculty sponsor.
	43.10(5) School buses may be used by an organization of, or sponsoring activities for, senior citizens, children, individuals with disabilities, and other persons and groups, and for transportation of persons other than pupils to activities in which pupils from the school are participants or are attending the activity or for which the school is a sponsor under the following conditions:
	a. 	The “school bus” signs are covered and the flashing warning lamps and stop arm made inoperable when the bus is being used in a nonschool-sponsored activity.
	b. 	Transportation outside the state of Iowa is not provided without the approval of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the United States Department of Transportation.
	c. 	A chaperone rides each bus to assist the passengers in boarding and disembarking from the bus and to aid them in case of illness or injury.
	d. 	The driver of the bus is approved by the local board of education and possesses an appropriate driver’s license and a school bus driver’s authorization.
	e. 	The driver of the bus observes all motor vehicle laws for school buses at all times.
	43.10(6) The bus meets passenger seating requirements.
	a. 	Each passenger has a seat, with no part of the passenger’s body extending into the aisle.
	b. 	Student passengers have a minimum of 13 inches of allowable seating per person.
	c. 	For adult groups, no more than two persons occupy a 39-inch seat.
	d. 	Standees are prohibited in all situations, whether the bus is transporting students or adults.
	e. 	The maximum number of passengers never exceeds the rated capacity of the vehicle as it is equipped.
	f. 	Districts with buses utilizing 3-point lap-shoulder belts adopts a board policy regarding use of these lap-shoulder belts by passengers.
[ARC 7793C, IAB 4/17/24, effective 5/22/24]