§ 3623 — School buses

§ 3623. School buses. 1. a. The commissioner of transportation in\nconsultation with the commissioner shall adopt, promulgate and enforce\nrules, standards and specifications regulating and controlling the\nefficiency and equipment of school buses used to transport pupils, with\nparticular regard to the safety and convenience of such pupils and the\nsuitability and adaptability of such school buses to the requirements of\nthe school district. No school bus shall be purchased by a school\ndistrict or used for the transportation of pupils unless and until it\nhas been approved by the commissioner of transportation as complying\nwith the rules, standards and specifications relating thereto.\n b. No bus manufactured after January first, nineteen hundred\nseventy-four shall be used to transport pupils under any contract with a\nschool district or board of cooperative educational services unless it\nhas been similarly approved by the commissioner of transportation,\nexcept that no such approval shall be required for buses used to\ntransport pupils and also used to serve the general public under a\ncertificate of public convenience for the operation of a bus line,\ngranted pursuant to the transportation law or for buses used to\ntransport pupils, teachers and other persons acting in a supervisory\ncapacity to and from school activities and which bus does not receive or\ndischarge passengers on or along the public highways on regularly\nscheduled routes and is operating under a permit as a contract carrier\nof passengers granted pursuant to the transportation law or by the\ninterstate commerce commission. School buses manufactured or assembled\nprior to April first, nineteen hundred seventy-seven may not be used to\ntransport pupils, teachers and other persons acting in a supervisory\ncapacity to and from school activities.\n c. The commissioner shall establish and provide for the enforcement of\nrules and regulations requiring instruction on the use of seat safety\nbelts as specified in subdivision five of section three hundred\neighty-three of the vehicle and traffic law and section thirty-six\nhundred thirty-five-a of this chapter, drills in safe boarding and\nexiting procedures and emergency drills to be conducted on all school\nbuses and shall emphasize specific hazards encountered by children\nduring snow, ice, rain and other inclement weather. All such drills\nshall include instruction in the importance of orderly conduct by all\nschool bus passengers. A minimum of three such drills shall be had on\neach school bus during the school year, the first to be conducted during\nthe first seven days of session of the fall term.\n 2. The commissioner shall, after public hearing, promulgate rules and\nregulations requiring drills on school buses for those pupils who do not\nparticipate in such drills required by subdivision one of this section,\nand the commissioner may provide by such rules and regulations for\ninstructional alternatives to carry out the purposes of this\nsubdivision.\n