ASSEMBLY, No. 4345

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED AUGUST 27, 2018

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  P. CHRISTOPHER TULLY

District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblywoman  LISA SWAIN

District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblyman  DANIEL R. BENSON

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Assemblywoman  PATRICIA EGAN JONES

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman DeAngelo

SYNOPSIS

     Requires safety education training twice per school year for school bus drivers and school bus aides.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

An Act concerning the training of school bus drivers and school bus aides and supplementing chapter 39 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

      1.   a.   As used in this section, “employer” means a board of education or a contractor that provides pupil transportation services under contract with a board of education.

      b.   An employer shall ensure that all school bus drivers and school bus aides are properly trained for the functions of their positions.

      c.    An employer shall administer a safety education program for all permanent and substitute school bus drivers and school bus aides that it employs.  At a minimum, the training shall include:

     (1)   student management and discipline;

     (2)   school bus accident and emergency procedures;

     (3)   conducting school bus emergency exit drills;

     (4)   loading and unloading procedures;

     (5)   school bus stop loading zone safety;

     (6)   inspecting the school vehicle for students left on board at the end of a route; and

     (7)   the use of a student's education records, including the employee's responsibility to ensure the privacy of the student and the student’s records, if applicable.

      d.   In addition to the training requirements in subsection c. of this section, an employer shall administer to school bus drivers a safety education program that includes defensive driving techniques and railroad crossing procedures.

      e.    The employer shall administer the safety education program set forth in subsections c. and d. of this section twice each school year, once at the beginning of the school year and once during the second semester. 

      2.   This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

     This bill codifies the State Board of Education regulation, N.J.A.C.6A:27-11.3, on the safety education program that is required to be provided by the employing board of education or school bus contractor to all permanent and substitute school bus drivers and school bus aides.  The bill specifies, however, that the safety education program must be provided twice every school year, once at the beginning of the school year and once during the second semester.

     The safety education program must include, at a minimum:

· Student management and discipline;

· School bus accident and emergency procedures;

· Conducting school bus emergency exit drills;

· Loading and unloading procedures;

· School bus stop loading zone safety;

· Inspecting the school vehicle for students left on board at the end of a route; and

· The use of a student's education records, including the employee's responsibility to ensure the privacy of the student and his records, if applicable.

In addition, in the case of a school bus driver, the program must include defensive driving techniques and railroad crossing procedures.