FILE: EDC
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION SAFETY PROGRAM
The Concordia Parish School Board recognizes the responsibility of school bus operators and the need for bus operators to practice extreme caution in transporting children to and from school. Therefore, the School Board shall require the implementation, maintenance, and observance of a transportation safety program which shall be enumerated in the Concordia Parish Transportation Manual.
VIDEO EQUIPMENT ON SCHOOL BUSES
As a means to help ensure safety and proper conduct on School Board owned and/or contracted school buses, it shall be the policy of the Board that video surveillance equipment be allowed and/or required when such equipment is requested and approved by the Supervisor of Transportation, and operated under rules and regulations established by the Superintendent.
The purchase and installation of such equipment shall be the responsibility of the Board for Board owned buses, or of the contract operators for their buses. Ownership of the equipment, including the housing thereof, shall remain with the Board or contract operator.
Strict adherence to laws and rules of confidentiality shall be maintained in the viewing of tapes and use of equipment to assure compliance with laws and regulations regarding the privacy rights of students and employees.
USE OF CELLULAR TELEPHONES
The Concordia Parish School Board may authorize the issuance of cellular telephones to all bus operators. The purpose of having cellular telephones on school buses is to improve the safety of students and employees. The intended use of these phones on the buses is for emergency use, not personal use. However, no person shall engage in a call on a cellular telephone or similar device while driving a school bus. The use of cellular telephones by school bus operators may be authorized in an emergency situation involving:
An emergency system response operator, 911 safety dispatcher, or school administrator;
A hospital or emergency room;
A physician’s office or health clinic;
An ambulance or fire department rescue service;
A fire department, fire protection district, or volunteer fire department;
A law enforcement agency.
In no case shall cellular telephones be used for personal use. The Superintendent and/or Transportation Supervisor will determine consequences for misuse and/or mishandling of cellular telephones, which shall include disciplinary action up to and including termination. A bus operator determined by the Superintendent or his/her designee to be guilty of using a cellular telephone while the bus is running shall be suspended without pay for one (1) to five (5) days for the first offense, and on the second offense, the bus operator shall be recommended for dismissal.
Guidelines under which cellular telephones shall be used are as follows:
Cellular telephones shall be used by bus operators while on buses in emergencies only.
Cellular telephones shall be used by operators after the bus has been pulled off the road and the engine has been turned off.
When it is necessary for a operator to make or receive a call, the operator shall pull off the road and stop the bus. Calls shall not be made or received when the bus is moving.
Failure to follow Board policy may result in disciplinary actions, including suspension without pay and/or termination.
Revised: May 21, 2009
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 32:289, 32:398, 32:871
Louisiana School Transportation Specifications and Procedures, Bulletin 119, §909, §2903, Louisiana Department of Education
Board minutes, 8-3-04, 5-21-09
Concordia Parish School Board