AS Title 14, Chapter 9: Transportation of Pupils

Chapter 09. Transportation of Pupils. Sec. 14.09.010. Transportation of students. (a) A school district that provides student transportation services for the transportation of students who reside a distance from established schools is eligible to receive funding for operating or subcontracting the operation of the transportation system for students to and from the schools within the student's transportation service area. Subject to appropriation, the amount of funding provided by the state for operating the student transportation system is the amount of a school district's ADM, less the ADM for the district's correspondence programs during the current fiscal year, multiplied by the per student amount for the school district as follows: DISTRICTPER STUDENT AMOUNT (2) (1) for the school for the school years beginning year beginning on or after July 1, 2011 July 1, 2012 Alaska Gateway $2,081 $2,148 Aleutians East311 321 Anchorage435 449 Annette Island182 188 Bering Strait 48 50 Bristol Bay2,6722,758 Chatham 280 289 Copper River1,5861,637 Cordova335 346 Craig423 437 Delta/Greely1,6561,709 Denali1,8081,866 Dillingham1,2181,257 Fairbanks817 843 Galena255 263 Haines626 646 Hoonah298 308 Iditarod211 218 Juneau604 623 Kake271 280 Kashunamiut 5 5 Kenai Peninsula 766 944 Ketchikan 727 750 Klawock 584 603 Kodiak Island 799 825 Kuspuk 654 675 Lake and Peninsula 384 396 Lower Kuskokwim 277 286 Lower Yukon 1 1 Matanuska-Susitna 910 939 Nenana 587 606 Nome 621 641 North Slope1,1201,156 Northwest Arctic 25 26 Pelican 72 74 Petersburg 374 386 Saint Mary's 193 199 Sitka 428 442 Skagway 36 37 Southeast Island1,1551,192 Southwest Region 598 617 Tanana 478 493 Unalaska 648 669 Valdez 735 759 Wrangell 701 723 Yakutat 744 768 Yukon Flats 264 272 Yukon/Koyukuk 299 309 Yupiit 2 2. (b) The department shall adopt regulations that provide for oversight of and support to school districts in achieving a safe and cost-effective student transportation system. The regulations must include a requirement for contract terms of not less than three years, if feasible, standardized conditions and bid periods, and standards that ensure cost efficiencies and exclusions. (c) [Repealed, § 11 ch 9 SLA 2008.] (d) A school district that provides transportation services under this section shall provide transportation services to students attending a charter school operated by the district under a policy adopted by the district. The policy must (1) be developed with input solicited from individuals involved with the charter school, including staff, students, and parents; (2) at a minimum, provide transportation services for students enrolled in the charter school on a space available basis along the regular routes that the students attending schools in an attendance area in the district are transported; and (3) be approved by the department. (e) If a school district fails to adopt a policy under (d) of this section, the school district shall allocate the amount received for each student under (a) of this section to each charter school operated by the district based on the number of students enrolled in the charter school. (f) Nothing in (d) of this section requires a school district to establish dedicated transportation routes for the exclusive use of students enrolled in a charter school or authorizes a charter school to opt out of a policy adopted by a school district for the purpose of acquiring transportation funding. (g) In this section, (1) “ADM” has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 ; (2) “district's ADM” means the sum of the ADMs in the district. Sec. 14.09.020. Transportation for nonpublic school students. In those places in the state where the department or a school district provides transportation for children attending public schools, the department also shall provide transportation for children who, in compliance with the provisions of AS 14.30 , attend nonpublic schools that are administered in compliance with state law where the children, in order to reach the nonpublic schools, must travel distances comparable to, and over routes the same as, the distances and routes over which the children attending public schools are transported. The commissioner shall administer this nonpublic school student transportation program, integrating it into existing systems as much as feasible, and the cost of the program shall be paid from funds appropriated for that purpose by the legislature. Sec. 14.09.025. Drug testing for school bus drivers. (a) A school district or regional educational attendance area that provides for the transportation of pupils shall require that the drivers of motor vehicles used to transport pupils submit to testing for the use of drugs and alcohol. The testing program must include random testing. A driver who tests positive for the improper use of drugs or alcohol may be disciplined, including termination from employment. (b) For a driver who is not required to have a commercial driver's license, an employer (1) shall keep and maintain records of the testing for improper use of drugs or alcohol on a confidential basis and may only release the results with the written consent of the employee; and (2) may not retain false positive test results in the employee's employment records and may not release information about a false positive test without the written consent of the employee. (c) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this section. The regulations must include a provision for a hearing before discipline is imposed. (d) In this section, “improper use of drugs or alcohol” means use that constitutes a criminal offense and use that violates regulations adopted by the department under this section. Sec. 14.09.030. School buses. (a) A municipal school district or regional educational attendance area shall (1) provide instruction on safe boarding, riding, exiting, and emergency procedures to school children transported to or from a public school by school bus; (2) provide instruction to drivers and passengers on the proper use of seat belts if school children in the municipal school district or regional educational attendance area are transported in buses equipped with seat belts; and (3) conduct at least three school bus drills each school year in safe boarding, exiting, and emergency procedures; one drill must be conducted during the first three weeks of the school term. (b) The department shall (1) establish equipment requirements for each type of school bus that is used to transport school children to or from a public school; (2) at least twice each calendar year, inspect each school bus for compliance with requirements adopted under this subsection; and (3) maintain a record of each accident involving a school bus or other vehicle transporting school children that is owned by, leased by, or provided under contract to a municipal school district or regional educational attendance area; the record must include the date of the accident, a list of persons injured, whether the person's injury occurred within the school bus, and each type of injury.