Montana Code 20-10-111. Duties of board of public education
20-10-111. Duties of board of public education. (1) The board of public education, with the advice of the Montana department of justice and the superintendent of public instruction, shall adopt and enforce policies, not inconsistent with the motor vehicle laws, to provide uniform standards and regulations for the design, construction, and operation of school buses in the state of Montana. The policies must:
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-10-111
- Board of public education: means the board created by Article X, section 9, subsection (3), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1507. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- district: means the territory, regardless of county boundaries, organized under the provisions of this title to provide public educational services under the jurisdiction of the trustees prescribed by this title. See Montana Code 20-6-101
- Individual transportation: means transportation by which a district is relieved of actually conveying a pupil. See Montana Code 20-10-101
- Pupil: means an individual who is admitted by the board of trustees pursuant to 20-5-101 and who is enrolled in a school established and maintained under the laws of the state at public expense. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- school: means an institution for the teaching of children that is established and maintained under the laws of the state of Montana at public expense. See Montana Code 20-6-501
- School bus: means , except as provided in subsection (5)(b), any motor vehicle that complies with the bus standards established by the board of public education as verified by the department of justice's semiannual inspection of school buses and the superintendent of public instruction and:
(i)is owned by a district or other public agency and operated for the transportation of pupils to or from school or owned by a carrier under contract with a district or public agency to provide transportation of pupils to or from school; or
(ii)is district-owned, is designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers, has an overall safety rating of five stars from the national highway traffic safety administration at the time of purchase, and is insured in accordance with minimum coverage requirements set forth in 20-10-109. See Montana Code 20-10-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Superintendent of public instruction: means that state government official designated as a member of the executive branch by the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- System: means the Montana university system. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- Transportation: means :
(a)a district's conveyance of a pupil by a school bus between the pupil's legal residence or an officially designated bus stop and the school designated by the trustees for the pupil's attendance; or
(b)individual transportation. See Montana Code 20-10-101
(a)prescribe minimum standards for the design, construction, and operation of school buses consistent with:
(i)the recommendations adopted by the national conference on school transportation; and
(ii)the federal motor vehicle safety standards;
(b)prescribe standards and specifications for the lighting equipment and special warning devices to be carried by school buses in conformity with:
(i)current specifications approved by the society of automobile engineers;
(ii)motor vehicle laws; and
(iii)the requirement that all school buses have an alternately flashing prewarning lighting system of four or more amber signal lamps to be used while preparing to stop and an alternately flashing warning lighting system of four or more red signal lamps to be used while stopped in accordance with 61-9-402;
(c)establish other driver qualifications considered necessary in addition to the qualifications required in 20-10-103;
(d)prescribe criteria for the establishment of transportation service areas for school bus purposes by the county transportation committee that shall allow for the establishment of service areas without regard to the district boundary lines within the county;
(e)prescribe other criteria for the determination of the residence of a pupil that may be considered necessary in addition to the criteria established in 20-10-105; and
(f)prescribe standards for the measurement of the child seating capacity of school buses, to be known as the rated capacity.
(2)The board of public education shall prescribe other policies necessary for the proper administration and operation of individual transportation programs that are consistent with the transportation provisions of this title.