SF 58 (LSB 1673XS (7) 88)

SENATE FILE 58

BY  SHIPLEY

A BILL FOR

An Act allowing certain vans and pickups to be used to transport pupils to activity events or from school to home in emergency situations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.1, subsection 69, paragraph d, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   d.  Designed New or used motor vehicles designed to carry not more than nine persons as passengers, including the driver, or used passenger vans designed to carry not more than twelve persons as passengers, including the driver, either school owned or privately owned, which are used to transport pupils to activity events in which the pupils are participants or used to transport pupils to their homes in case of illness or other emergency situations. The vehicles operated under the provisions of this paragraph shall be operated by employees of the school district who are specifically approved by the local superintendent of schools for the assignment.
    Sec. 2.  Section 321.373, subsection 3, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  a.  The rules prescribed for school buses shall include special rules for passenger automobiles, and other vehicles designed to carry eight or fewer pupils, when used as school buses.
   b.  The rules shall allow pickups designed to carry nine passengers or less, including the driver, and weighing ten thousand pounds or less, to be used as school buses if the pickup does not carry more passengers than there are safety belts or safety harnesses in the pickup as installed by the manufacturer and if the pickup is not operated while any passenger is present in the bed of the pickup. The operator of the pickup shall comply with the qualification, licensing, and instruction requirements set forth in sections 321.375 and 321.376, other than the requirement to obtain a commercial driver’s license. However, the rules shall allow the board of directors of a school district to prohibit the use of pickups as school buses by the school district.
   c.  The rules shall allow used passenger vans designed to carry twelve or fewer passengers, including the driver, and weighing ten thousand pounds or less, to be used as school buses if the van does not carry more passengers than there are safety belts or safety harnesses in the van as installed by the manufacturer. The operator of the van shall comply with the qualification, licensing, and instruction requirements set forth in sections 321.375 and 321.376.
   d.  A pickup or passenger van operated pursuant to rules described in paragraph “b” or “c” is subject to the limitations set forth in section 321.1, subsection 69, paragraph “d”.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   CURRENT IOWA LAW. Under current law, motor vehicles designed to carry not more than nine persons as passengers, either school owned or privately owned, are excluded from the definition of “school bus” under Code section 321.1, thereby excluding such vehicles from the duties and requirements relating to school buses set forth in Code chapter 321 (motor vehicles and law of the road). To qualify under the exclusion, a vehicle must be used to transport pupils to activity events in which the pupils are participants or used to transport pupils to their homes in case of illness or other emergency situations, and must be operated by an employee of the school district who is specifically approved by the local superintendent of schools for the assignment.
   Administrative rules of the department of education regulate type III vehicles used as school buses. Under 281 IAC 44.2(5), type III vehicles are not regular school buses but are used to transport students in a school-related context and may be marked as a school bus. A type III vehicle is a van or passenger car, including a minivan, sport utility vehicle, or station wagon. The difference between a family automobile and an equivalent type III vehicle is not the vehicle itself, but rather its use, as type III vehicles are used by schools for purposes of student transportation. To qualify as a type III vehicle, the vehicle must carry a maximum of nine or fewer people, including the driver, and weigh 10,000 pounds or less. Under 281 IAC 44.5(1), vehicles classified as pickups are not allowed to be used for student transportation. All type III vehicles are prohibited from carrying more passengers than there are seat belts as installed by the manufacturer (281 IAC 44.5(1)(d)). In addition, trailer hitches are allowed on type III vehicles in accordance with the manufacturer’s rated towing capacity, but students are not allowed to be transported in the vehicle when the vehicle is being used to tow (281 IAC 44.5(2)(j)).
   Any person who operates or allows the operation of any vehicle as a school bus which does not comply with the requirements provided by law or by the rules and regulations of the department of education, or for which there is not a valid temporary certificate for operation, is guilty of a simple misdemeanor (Code section 285.14). The department of education is required to review all transportation arrangements when deemed necessary, to disapprove any arrangements that are not in conformity with the law and established standards, and to require the arrangements to be altered or changed so that they do conform with the law and established standards (Code section 285.8). 
   CURRENT FEDERAL LAW. 49 U.S.C. §30112(a)(1) prohibits the manufacture, sale, or import of a motor vehicle that does not comply with applicable motor vehicle safety standards if the vehicle was manufactured on or after the date an applicable safety standard took effect. The provision does not apply after the first purchase of the motor vehicle in good faith other than for resale. Therefore, the provision prohibits the sale of a new motor vehicle for use as a school bus if the motor vehicle does not meet applicable federal safety standards for school buses. Under federal law, a school bus is a passenger motor vehicle designed to carry a driver and more than 10 passengers that is used significantly to transport students to or from school or an event related to school.
   PICKUPS. This bill requires the administrative rules to allow pickups designed to carry nine passengers or less, including the driver, and weighing 10,000 pounds or less, to be used as school buses. Under Code section 321.1, a “pickup” is any motor vehicle designed to carry merchandise or freight of any kind, not to exceed 2,000 pounds. The bill prohibits the pickup from carrying more passengers than there are safety belts or safety harnesses in the pickup as installed by the manufacturer, and from operating while any passenger is present in the bed of the pickup. The operator of the pickup must comply with the qualification, licensing, and instruction requirements set forth in Code sections 321.375 (school bus drivers, qualifications, and grounds for suspension) and 321.376 (license, authorization, and instruction requirement), other than the requirement to obtain a commercial driver’s license. However, the bill provides that the rules must allow the board of directors of a school district to prohibit the use of pickups as school buses by the school district.
   PASSENGER VANS. The bill excludes from the definition of “school bus” under Code section 321.1 used passenger vans designed to carry not more than 12 persons as passengers, including the driver. The bill requires the administrative rules to allow used passenger vans designed to carry 12 or fewer passengers, including the driver, and weighing 10,000 pounds or less, to be used as school buses if the van does not carry more passengers than there are safety belts or safety harnesses in the van as installed by the manufacturer. The operator of the van must comply with the qualification, licensing, and instruction requirements set forth in Code sections 321.375 and 321.376.
   LIMITATION. The bill specifies that pickups and passenger vans operated as school buses under the administrative rules described in the bill are subject to the limitations set forth under the provision of Code section 321.1 that excludes such vehicles from the definition of “school bus”, namely that such vehicles must be used to transport pupils to activity events in which the pupils are participants or used to transport pupils to their homes in case of illness or other emergency situations, and must be operated by an employee of the school district who is specifically approved by the local superintendent of schools for the assignment.