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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 59-67-105 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE MAXIMUM SCHOOL BUS RIDE TIME OF EACH STUDENT AND ROUTING EFFICIENCY FOR EACH SCHOOL BUS; BY ADDING SECTION 59-67-108 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR REQUIRED SCHOOL BUS DRIVER CERTIFICATION TRAINING; BY ADDING SECTION 59-67-415 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SAFETY, CONDUCT, AND TIMELY ARRIVAL OF THEIR CHILDREN TO, FROM, AND AT THE SCHOOL BUS STOP; TO AMEND SECTION 59-67-100, RELATING TO SCHOOL BUS SEATING SPACE AND STUDENTS ASSIGNED TO A SCHOOL BUS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ASSIGNED TO A SCHOOL BUS MUST NOT BE GREATER THAN THE MANUFACTURER CERTIFIED SEATING CAPACITY AND PROVIDE THAT ALL PASSENGERS TRANSPORTED MUST HAVE ADEQUATE SEATING AREA TO COMPLY WITH CERTAIN STANDARDS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-67-270, RELATING TO INSPECTION OF BUSES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT SCHOOL BUSES MUST BE INSPECTED AT LEAST ONCE ANNUALLY; AND TO AMEND SECTION 59-67-420, RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION TO BE PROVIDED TO STUDENTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE SHALL BEAR THE COST OF TRANSPORTING STUDENTS WHEN THE TRANSPORTATION IS AUTHORIZED BY STATE LAW OR REGULATION, PROVIDE THAT THE STATE MAY ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TRANSPORTING STUDENTS WHO LIVE WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE OF THE SCHOOL WHEN HAZARDOUS TRAFFIC CONDITIONS ARE INVOLVED, PROVIDE THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL ESTABLISH HAZARDOUS TRAFFIC CRITERIA, PROVIDE FOR HAZARDOUS TRAFFIC FUNDS, PROVIDE THAT THE STATE SHALL PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THE RESIDENCE OF EACH UNESCORTED STUDENT PURSUANT TO CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES AND DEFINE UNESCORTED STUDENT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 67, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-67-105. (A) A student may not ride continuously on a school bus for more than seventy-five minutes. With the approval of the Department of Education, the seventy-five minute maximum ride time may be exceeded in situations where the area's geography requires longer than average highway travel because of a circuitous or meandering road network, extremely low population density, or waterway barriers.
(B) The Department of Education annually shall assure that state-owned school buses are routed in the most efficient manner and shall require that they are operated only on adequately maintained and safe public and private accessible highways and streets."
SECTION 2. Article 1, Chapter 67, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-67-108. Only a person who has been certified by the State Board of Education may drive a school bus, as defined in Section 59-67-10, when transporting preprimary, primary, or secondary students to or from school, school-related activities, or child care."
SECTION 3. Article 3, Chapter 67, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-67-415. Parents or guardians are responsible for the safety, conduct, and the timely arrival of their children to, from, and at the designated school bus stop before the arrival of the school bus for pick up and transport to school and the timely departure of the child after the school bus leaves the designated school bus stop after transporting the children from school. The arrival of the school bus includes the time that the school bus assigned to the school bus stop activates the required pedestrian safety devices, stops, and loads or unloads students until the school bus deactivates all pedestrian safety devices."
SECTION 4. Section 59-67-100 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-67-100. Sufficient seating space shall must be provided so far as practicable for each passenger transported inside each school bus, no an aisle in the school bus shall must not be less than twelve inches in width and all seats shall must be securely fastened to the floor or body of the vehicle. All pupils students must be within the body of the bus at all times while the bus is in motion. They shall not be permitted to ride on the running boards or in Students are not permitted any other place outside the bus, nor shall they be permitted to and may not ride with heads or arms protruding through open windows. Commencing with the 1974-75 school year, the number of pupils transported on a school bus shall not exceed by more than ten percent the manufacturer's rated seating capacity of such bus; and by the school year 1975-76, seating space shall be provided for each pupil transported. The number of students assigned to a school bus must not be greater than the manufacturer certified seating capacity; however, all passengers transported must have adequate seating area to comply with the occupant protection performance standards required in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Provided, however, that a limited number of standees excess passengers on regular routes may be permitted until the bus routes can be adjusted to accommodate the overload but not to exceed twenty school days."
SECTION 5. Section 59-67-270 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-67-270. All publicly and privately owned school buses must be inspected at least once annually in compliance with the State Department of Education annual school bus inspection program. All school buses shall be are subject to inspection at any time or place by officers of the State Highway Patrol or inspection forces. No A school bus shall may not continue in operation in the transportation of pupils students when the annual inspection is more than twelve months old or the school bus is found to be unsafe after an inspection until the unsafe conditions disclosed by such the inspection shall have been corrected."
SECTION 6. Section 59-67-420 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-67-420. (A) The State, acting through the State Board of Education, assumes no obligation to transport any child student to or from school who lives within one and one-half miles of the school he attends, nor to provide transportation services extending within a one-half mile radius of the residence of any child student, nor to furnish transportation for any child student who attends a grade in a school outside the pupil's district school attendance zone in which the student resides when the same grade is taught in an appropriate school that is located within the school district in which the pupil lives student resides. The State shall bear the cost of transporting pupils students to regularly organized instructional classes in the district or school attendance area for which state-required school credit is given must be borne by the State. The cost of transportation for new programs conducted by the school districts must be borne by the school district until such time as the program is approved by the State Board of Education and adequate funding for the cost of transportation for the programs is arranged. The State is not responsible for any additional transportation that is not authorized by state law or regulation.
(B) The State may assume the obligation of transporting students living within one and one-half miles of their schools and within a one-half mile radius of their residences when it is for the health and safety of the children students where hazardous traffic conditions are involved. In these cases, the local school district may shall apply in writing to the State Department of Education for the department State to assume the financial responsibility for this transportation for the health and safety of the children involved from funds appropriated annually by the General Assembly for this purpose. In its application, local school districts shall assign priority to its requests for transportation on the basis of children's ages, with the youngest children subject to hazardous conditions receiving the highest priorities. After examining the request, the state department shall render a decision on each application based on the location of the schools in relation to students' homes, the traffic patterns on adjacent roads, the existence of sidewalks, children's ages, and other factors considered pertinent. The state department shall not approve local district applications that have not assigned priority on the basis of children's ages, with the youngest children receiving highest priority. Highway and railroad traffic hazardous criteria must be established by the school district governing body and must respond to the safety of the walk zone as it relates to the location of the school to the student's residence, the traffic patterns, speeds and volume on roadways and railroads, the existence of sidewalks or other walk paths, the student's age, available crossing control systems and personnel, and other factors considered pertinent. The districts shall weigh the need for the state hazardous transportation funds by giving priority to children that are least familiar with traffic movement and the complexity of the traffic hazards. The Department of Education equitably shall allocate appropriated funds to the district for hazardous transportation services. The department shall receive each district's applications for transportation within a hazardous area and apply these against the district's allocation until available funds are exhausted. When available state funds are exhausted, the remaining costs are the responsibility of the respective district.
(C) Regardless of the provisions of the first paragraph of this section Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (A), the State shall transport and bear the cost of transporting five-year old four-year-old children attending public school kindergarten programs to their residences at the conclusion of a morning kindergarten child development session and from their residences to an afternoon kindergarten child development session.
(D) The State shall provide school transportation service to and from the residence of each unescorted student who is eligible to receive state funded school transportation service and who is enrolled in a full-day four-year-old child development program or kindergarten through the second grade. The State shall provide school transportation service within two-tenths of a mile of each unescorted student who is eligible to receive state funded school transportation service and who is enrolled in third through fifth grade. The special provisions of unescorted children in child development through fifth grade are limited to service documented in the annual route plan.
(E) An unescorted student is defined as a student who has no adult or responsible older person available to accompany him to or from the school bus stop for the purpose of providing protection and guidance. Parents or guardians may be considered unavailable for escort and exempt from the provisions of Section 59-67-415 if they meet the unescorted criteria established by the school district governing body. This criteria must be approved by the State Department of Education. The criteria shall consider parents and guardians that are non-ambulatory, head of a single-parent family with a work schedule that requires them to be away from their residence when the bus is scheduled to load or unload their child, a caretaker for a child under the age of one-year or another person requiring their undivided attention, or for other similar circumstances."
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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