Assembly Bill No. 205

Assembly Bill No. 205-Committee on Transportation

CHAPTER

373

AN ACT relating to school buses; requiring school districts to adopt safety programs for pupils who ride school buses; requiring certain pupils to participate in the programs; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

[Approved July 8, 1997]

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. NRS 392.375 is hereby amended to read as follows:
392.375 1. [Each] At least twice each school year, a school district shall require all [of] the pupils in the school district who ride a school bus to practice the evacuation of a school bus [twice each school year.] and to receive instruction in the responsibility of a passenger of a school bus to use the emergency exit doors on the bus during an evacuation.
2. Each school district shall adopt a safety program which includes, without limitation:
(a) The procedure for pupils to safely enter and exit a school bus, including entering and exiting with a driver of a school bus as an escort;
(b) Proper behavior and conduct of pupils while in areas around a school bus where a high risk of danger to pupils exists, including the area that is used to load and unload school buses;
(c) Behavior and conduct of pupils while on a school bus that will enhance the safety of the pupils;
(d) Evacuation of pupils from a school bus; and
(e) The location of emergency equipment on a school bus.
At least annually, a school district shall require all pupils who are enrolled in preschool, kindergarten and in grades 1 to 4, inclusive, in the school district who ride a school bus to participate in the safety program created pursuant to this section.
3. If a parent or legal guardian enrolls his child in preschool, kindergarten or grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and the child will be riding a school bus for the first time, the school shall provide the parent or legal guardian, upon enrollment, with written information concerning the safety of pupils on a school bus. The information must include, without limitation:
(a) A description of each location that is designated to load and unload a school bus which is in geographical proximity to the pupil's residence;
(b) Rules of conduct for pupils on a school bus and at an area that is designated for pupils to enter and exit a school bus;
(c) Instructions for the operation of a motor vehicle:
(1) At school crossing zones and in areas that are designated to load and unload a school bus; and
(2) When a driver of a school bus operates a system of flashing red lights;
(d) A description of the area around a school bus that poses a high risk of danger to pupils and other pedestrians; and
(e) Behavior and conduct for pupils who walk to and from an area that is designated for pupils to enter and exit a school bus that will enhance the safety of the pupils.
4. The board of trustees of each school district shall adopt regulations regarding practices conducted pursuant to subsection 1 [,] and participation in safety programs required by subsection 2, including the requirement of such practices and participation in such programs at the beginning of any field trip by school bus.
Sec. 2. The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any additional expenses of a local government that are related to the provisions of this act.
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