To update the Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Manual and relevant forms. Local school district inspector trainers and school bus safety inspectors will be referred to the 2020 edition of the Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Manual.

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

State Board of Education

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

6A-3.0171Responsibilities of School Districts for Student Transportation

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: To update the Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Manual and relevant forms. Local school district inspector trainers and school bus safety inspectors will be referred to the 2020 edition of the Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Manual.

SUMMARY: This amendment will update the Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Manual to the 2020 edition, and incorporate by reference the Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Form (2020-IF), the State of Florida School Bus Safety Inspector Application Form (2020-SI), and the District Online Test Administrator Application Form (2020-TA).

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has been prepared by the Agency.

In summary, the scope of the rule is very narrow applying only to school districts in the State. A comparison of the requirements of the 2017 Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Manual to the requirements of the 2020 edition of the Manual indicates that the fiscal impact of the rule revision will be minimal and will not approach $200,000 per year. As such, this rule is not expected to require legislative ratification.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1001.02(1), 1006.22, FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1006.22, FS.

A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: September 23, 2020, 9:00 a.m.

PLACE: Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 5th St S., Saint Petersburg, FL 33701.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Mark Eggers, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Finance and Operations, Florida Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 814, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, [phone].

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

6A-3.0171 Responsibilities of School Districts for Student Transportation.

Each school district shall exercise specific powers and responsibilities, as follows:

(1) Responsibilities of Superintendent. It shall be the duty of the superintendent, acting as executive officer for the school board to exercise functions and to perform duties listed below:

(a) through (f) No change.

(g) To propose garages at which buses shall be inspected, when arrangements for this service have not been made to use school board employed mechanics, and to see that inspections are systematically made at least once every thirty (30) school days each month at garages approved by the board.

(h) No change.

(2) through (7) No change.

(8) Inspection and maintenance of school buses.

(a) No change.

(b) The inspection shall be conducted in accordance with procedures and include all items listed in the State of Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Manual, 2020 2017 Edition (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-07934) and documented on the Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Form (2020-IF 2017-IF) (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-07935), effective October 2020 March 2017. The manual and form 2020-IF 2017-IF are hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule. These documents may be obtained from the Department’s website at: http://fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7585/urlt/0085485-floridaschoolbussafetyinspectionmanual-1.pdf and may also be obtained from the School Transportation Management Section, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, at a cost not to exceed actual production and distribution cost.

(c) Inspection of buses shall be scheduled and performed at a maximum interval of thirty (30) school days. Any bus that is removed from service or deadlined so as to disrupt the safety inspection schedule shall be inspected prior to being returned to service. All deficiencies discovered during the safety inspection shall be noted on the inspection form (2020-IF 2017-IF). Follow-up repairs of all safety related items shall be made before the bus is returned to service and shall be documented.

(d) School bus inspections shall be conducted by technicians certified as school bus safety inspectors in accordance with the State of Florida School Bus Safety Inspection Manual, 2020 2017 Edition. The State of Florida School Bus Safety Inspector Application (Form 2020-SI 2017-SI) (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-07936), effective October 2020 March 2017, and the District Online Test Administrator Application (Form 2020-TA 2017-TA) (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-07937), effective October 2020 March 2017, are hereby incorporated by reference and made part of this rule. These documents may be obtained from the Department’s website at: http://fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7585/urlt/0085485-floridaschoolbussafetyinspectionmanual-1.pdf and may also be obtained from the School Transportation Management Section, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, at a cost not to exceed actual production and distribution cost. The requirement that inspections be performed by a certified Florida School Bus Safety Inspector may be waived for a period not to exceed six (6) months when an emergency condition exists, upon written notification to the Commissioner of Education by the district superintendent.

(e) No change.

(9) through (10) No change

Rulemaking Authority 316.615, 1001.02(1), 1003.31, 1006.21, 1006.22, 1012.45 FS. Law Implemented 316.615, 1003.31, 1006.22, 1012.45 FS. History–New 9-4-64, Amended 3-25-66, 1-17-72, 7-20-74, Repromulgated 12-5-74, Amended 11-24-76, 10-1-81, Formerly 6A-3.17, Amended 9-30-87, 6-26-89, 11-15-94, 8-28-95, 4-18-96, Formerly 6-3.017, Amended 6-11-00, Formerly 6-3.017, Amended 4-21-03, 11-26-08, 3-23-16, 3-22-17,____.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Mark Eggers, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Finance and Operations, Florida Department of Education.

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Richard Corcoran, Commissioner, Department of Education.

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: August 10, 2020

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: August 5, 2020