NORTHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION FILE CODE: 3541.33
Northfield, New Jersey X Monitored
X Mandated
Policy X Other Reasons
TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
The safety and welfare of students shall be the first consideration in all matters pertaining to transportation.
Accidents
Forms shall be provided for the immediate reporting of all incidents involving a district owned or contracted vehicle that include any of the following:
A. Physical injury to anyone concerned, no matter how minor;
B. Property damage of any kind, even if the financial loss is negligible;
C. Failure of any mechanical function of a district‑owned or contracted vehicle during operation, even if no injury or damage results.
It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent to direct an investigation on the report and to comply with the law.
Bus Procedures to Reduce the Spread of Contagion
- District vehicles will be cleaned and sanitized including seats, rails, and highly touch surfaces before each run.
- Contracted transportation providers shall be required to clean and sanitize seats, rails and highly touched surfaces before each run. The district shall collaborate with the contracted service provider to develop these procedures and ensure that they are consistently followed. The contracted service provider shall collaborate with the district in establishing cleaning/sanitation protocols that are consistent with social distancing practices. The contracted service provider shall ensure that employees are fully trained in the implementation of the established protocols:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the established protocols that must be taken to properly clean and sanitize the bus; and
- Provide a certification that, before the route commenced, the required process was completed as required.
Training for Interacting with Students with Special Needs
The board of education contractor that provides student transportation services shall administer the New Jersey Department of Education developed training program on the proper procedures for interacting with students with special needs to all school bus drivers and school bus aides that it employs. The training program includes appropriate behavior management; effective communication; use and operation of adaptive equipment; and understanding behaviors that may be related to specific disabilities.
The training program shall be administered prior to that individual operating a school bus or serving as an aide on a school bus.
The board of education contractor that provides student transportation services requires that a school bus driver or school bus aide file a certification with the board of education contractor that provides student transportation services that the individual has completed the training program within five business days of its completion. The board of education contractor that provides student transportation services shall retain a copy of the certification for the duration of the individual’s employment, and shall forward a copy of the certification to the New Jersey Department of Education.
The parent or guardian of a student with an individualized education plan shall complete the student information card when the individualized education plan is developed or amended for a student who receives transportation services. The student information card, developed by the New Jersey Department of Education, shall include information that should be readily available to a school bus driver and school bus aide for the purpose of promoting proper interaction with a student with special needs.
Upon receiving consent from a student’s parent or guardian, the a copy of the completed student information card shall be provided to the student’s assigned school bus driver and school bus aide.
Vehicles and Equipment
All district‑owned or contracted vehicles used to transport students shall be maintained in such condition as to provide safe and efficient transportation service with a minimum of delays and disruption due to mechanical or equipment failure.
All district‑owned or contracted vehicles used to transport students shall conform to state standards for such vehicles and shall be equipped with all safety devices required by code and statute.
All passengers on buses equipped with seat belts shall wear properly adjusted and fastened seat belts or other child restraint systems at all times while the bus is in operation.
Bus Drivers
Drivers of all Type I and Type II school vehicles used to transport district students shall be licensed by the State of New Jersey as bus drivers. They shall comply with all state requirements on physical condition, criminal history clearance, etc. The district shall be in compliance with all drug and alcohol testing requirements of the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act and implementing regulations and shall provide all bus drivers with required information on them (see policy 4219.23 Employee Substance Abuse). Bus drivers are responsible for the safety of students entering, riding, and departing their vehicle.
Adopted: November 27, 2017
NJSBA Review/Update: July 2020
Readopted:
Key Words
Safety, Bus Safety, Transportation Safety, Pupil Transportation, Student Transportation
Legal References: N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.1 Criminal history record; employee in regular contact with pupils; grounds for disqualification from employment; exception
N.J.S.A. 18A:25‑2 Authority over pupils
N.J.S.A. 18A:39-1 et seq. Transportation of pupils remote from school
See particularly:
N.J.S.A. 18A:39-17, -18,
-19.1, -20
N.J.S.A. 18A:39-19.2 Training program for school bus drivers, bus aides
through N.J.S.A. 18A:39-19.4 relative to students with special needs
N.J.S.A. 18A:39-26 School Bus Safety Act
N.J.S.A. 18A:39-27 Bus Driver Presence Required
N.J.S.A. 18A:39-28 Inspection of School Bus for Pupils
N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.9 et seq New Jersey Commercial Driver License Act
N.J.S.A. 39:3B-1.1 et seq. School Buses, Equipment and Regulations
See particularly:
N.J.S.A. 39:3B-10
through -12
N.J.A.C. 6A:27-1.1et seq. Student Transportation
See particularly:
N.J.A.C. 6A:27-11.1, -11.2,
-11.3, -11.4,-12.2, -13.3
34 CFR Part 85.100 et seq., Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension
(nonprocurement) and Governmentwide Requirements for Drug‑Free Workplace
(Grants)
49 U.S.C. § 31306 et seq.- Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991
49 C.F.R. Part 40.1 et seq. – Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug Testing
Programs
49 C.F.R. Part 382.101 – Controlled Substance and Alcohol Use and Testing
49 C.F.R. Part 391.1 et seq. – Qualification of drivers
Policies and Procedures Manual for Pupil Transportation, N.J. State Department of Education
The Department of Education School Bus Driver and Aide Training for Interacting with Students with Special Need: located on the New Jersey Department of Education website at: http://www.nj.gov/education/finance/transportation/training/dis/
Possible
Cross References: *3516 Safety
*3541.1 Transportation routes and services
*4211 Recruitment, selection and hiring
*4119.23/4219.23 Employee substance abuse
*4231/4231.1 Staff development; inservice education/visitations/conferences
*5131 Conduct/discipline
*1531.1 Harassment, intimidation and bullying
*5142 Pupil safety
*Indicates policy is included in the Critical Policy Reference Manual.