Two new laws recently took effect in Illinois that impact student transportation, but the state Department of Education (DOE) only supports one of them, Public Act 97-0224. This law, which took effect in July, requires first-division vehicles, including taxis used for a purpose that requires a school bus driver permit, to be inspected at an official state testing station every six months.
Cinda Meneghetti, the DOE state director of pupil transportation, said this legislation came about when complaints arose about the condition of taxicabs being used to transport special needs students to and from school. Many urban school districts utilize cab services to save money, and cab drivers are required to obtain school bus driver permits, except for the CDL portion, she explained.
“When they asked who inspects these vehicles, no one knew. Companies were getting junk titles out of the junkyard and making them into cabs,” said Meneghetti, citing a cab with missing floorboards in one case. “Having a contract with a couple of school districts is great, but they have to be able to pick students up and deliver them to school safely.”
Also added to the bill was a provision requiring owners of first-division vehicles, defined in the Illinois Vehicle Code as motor vehicles designed to transport 10 or fewer passengers, to carry personal liability insurance in the amount of $1 million. Another addition is related to the background check and fingerprinting required of the school bus driver permit. Drivers must notify their employer if issued an order of court supervision, or convicted in another state, for an offense that would make them ineligible for a permit.
“A few years ago, a taxicab driver got pulled over, and he had a couple of special needs children. The driver was on the registered sex offender list. That’s why these safeguards are in place,” Meneghetti said. “All the things they added to the bill we highly agree with.”
But, she said the department is unsure if a second law, Public Act 97-0378, will have much impact on student transportation. It amended the definition of a multifunction school activity bus (MFSAB), as of Aug. 15, to to transport 11 or more individuals, and passenger capacity is no longer limited to 15. In short, the buses that churches use can now also be used to transport students attending an affiliated school to and from field trips and athletic events.
“We don’t want to encourage those to be purchased because we don’t feel the drivers have been trained properly. I don’t think coaches and teachers realize the liability they’re taking on when they use this type of vehicle to drive to a practice or game,” Meneghetti said, adding that this law won’t impact public school transportation.
“The bottom line is the yellow school bus is the safest vehicle out here, the drivers are highly trained and that’s what we want our kids on.”
