FILE:  EDDA

Cf:  ED, IFCB

 

SPECIAL USE OF SCHOOL BUSES

 

 

SCHOOL BOARD RELATED BUS USE

 

It shall be the policy of the Rapides Parish School Board to permit the use of school buses for student trips or excursions to enhance instructional activities.  The use of buses for such trips shall be strictly governed by regulations adopted by the Board and/or established by the Superintendent or administrative staff.  All arrangements for any trip or excursion shall be made by either the transportation supervisor or the Superintendent.

 

Any School Board owned or operated school or organization may use buses for athletic or activity trips.  The School Board will be reimbursed by the school or organization the expense equal to the cost of operation of the buses for the particular event.  In addition, the following guidelines shall also apply to the special use of any school bus:

 

  1. For activities of an educational nature within the parish, the use of the buses shall be requested by the principal of the school involved and it shall be limited in time so as not to interfere with the regular route to which that bus is assigned.

  2. For educational activities outside the parish, the use of the buses shall be limited to transporting those students who are engaged in representing their school in the principal activity for which the trip is required.  The request shall also come from the principal involved.

  3. Approval for the use of the buses shall be requested at a time prior to the trip sufficient for the office staff to evaluate the request and to make the arrangements necessary.  All buses on all occasions shall be driven by a person with a commercial driver's license with the appropriate designation and certified by Rapides Parish School Board.  The principal of the school involved shall be held responsible for seeing that the above condition is met.

  4. No trip will be approved for travel outside the approximate boundary formed by the cities of Biloxi, MS – Jackson, MS – Dallas, TX and Houston, TX.

 

NON-SCHOOL BOARD RELATED BUS USAGE

 

Due to legal constraints and insurance requirements private and parochial schools and or non-profit school organizations residing within Rapides Parish may only be permitted to use Rapides Parish School Board’s buses upon written application to the Director of Transportation and approval by the Superintendent or his/her designee.  Non-School Board users shall employ drivers certified by the State of Louisiana and the School Board.  The Superintendent is charged herein to ensure that all costs of these transactions are recouped by the School Board in accordance with the State Constitution and Louisiana Revised Statutes.  In addition to the prescribed, the School Board shall require the following:

 

  1. Application for use of the School Board’s school buses shall be submitted through the Director of Transportation and approved by the Superintendent and or designee on a first come, first serve basis forty-eight hours (48 hrs.) prior to the anticipated use.

  2. Only school students, school personnel and school approved chaperones shall be permitted to ride the bus during this “special use”.

  3. All organizations requesting and using the School Board’s buses under this section shall provide the following information attached to a trip request;

 

    1. Certificate of Auto Liability Insurance evidencing “hired and non-owned” coverage,

    2. Certificate shall name Rapides Parish School Board as additional insured under that policy and minimum limits of one million dollars, combined single limit.

 

  1. Any use not directly related to Rapides Parish School Board business shall be charged at a rate of $1.00 per mile, plus fuel consumed, plus a standard cleanup charge of $100 and the actual cost of the School Board’s certified driver’s fee (one and one-half times the driver’s hourly rate of pay) notwithstanding the entity employing a certified driver meeting qualifications noted above.

 

Emergency situations will be addressed by the Transportation Director with the verbal or written approval of the Superintendent or his/her designee.  In accord with best practices, the use will be documented and recovery of costs to immediately follow the trip.  Private and parochial schools should project their needs and make prior arrangements (insurance certificates on file) with the Superintendent or his designee so as to be approved prior to the emergency need.

 

Revised:  April 1, 2014

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:158

Board minutes, 4-1-14

 

Rapides Parish School Board