§ 16-21-1. Transportation of public and private school pupils.
(a) The school committee of any town or city shall provide suitable transportation, that
may include, but is not limited to, pupil transportation vehicles as defined in § 31-22.1-1, to and from school for pupils attending public and private schools of elementary
and high school grades, except private schools that are operated for profit, who reside
so far from the public or private school that the pupil attends as to make the pupil's
regular attendance at school impractical and for any pupil whose regular attendance
would otherwise be impracticable on account of physical disability or infirmity.
(1) The school committee of any town or city using a pupil transportation vehicle as defined
in § 31-22.1-1 shall comply with the requirements of subsection (b) of this section, notwithstanding
the provisions of § 31-22.1-3(6).
(b) For transportation provided to children enrolled in grades kindergarten through five
(5), school bus monitors, other than the school bus driver, shall be required on all
school-bound and home-bound routes. Variances to the requirement for a school bus
monitor may be granted by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education if
he or she finds that an alternative plan provides substantially equivalent safety
for children. For the purposes of this section a "school bus monitor� means any person
sixteen (16) years of age or older.
(c) No school committee shall negotiate, extend, or renew any transportation contract
unless such contract enables the district to participate in the statewide transportation
system, without penalty to the district, upon implementation of the statewide transportation
system described in §§ 16-21.1-7 [repealed] and 16-21.1-8. Notice of the implementation of the statewide transportation system for in-district
transportation shall be provided in writing by the department of elementary and secondary
education to the superintendent of each district upon implementation. Upon implementation
of the statewide system of transportation for all students, each school committee
shall purchase transportation services for its own resident students by accessing
the statewide system on a fee-for-service basis for each student; provided, however,
that any school committee that fulfills its transportation obligations primarily through
the use of district-owned buses or district employees may continue to do so. Variances
to the requirement for the purchase of transportation services through the statewide
transportation system for non-public and non-shared routes may be granted by the commissioner
of elementary and secondary education if the commissioner finds that an alternative
system is more cost effective. All fees paid for transportation services provided
to students under the statewide system shall be paid into a statewide student transportation
services restricted receipt account within the department of elementary and secondary
education. Payments from the account shall be limited to payments to the transportation
service provider and transportation system consultants. This restricted receipt account
shall not be subject to the indirect cost recoveries provisions set forth in § 35-4-27.
(d) No school committee shall negotiate, extend, or renew any school transportation service
contract unless the contract provides for payments to school bus drivers, attendants,
monitors, and aides for one hundred and eighty (180) days or the length of the contracted-for
school year, whichever is longer.
(e) With respect to any contract entered into under this section, a school committee or
local education agency shall give a preference in contract and/or subcontract awards
to the public transportation provider that uses electric buses to the greatest extent.
This preference shall be given equal weight to any other preferences available to
vendors.
(f) With respect to any contract entered into under this section, no school committee
or local education agency ("LEA�) shall take any adverse disciplinary action against
any school bus driver, attendant, monitor, or aide covered by a collective bargaining
agreement prior to any investigation or action taken by the contracting entity as
provided for in the collective bargaining agreement. Nor shall the school committee
or LEA impose discipline in excess of what is provided for in the governing collective
bargaining agreement.