BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1072
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 22, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
SB
1072 (Mendoza) - As Amended April 7, 2016
[This bill was double referred to the Assembly Committee on
Transportation and was heard by the committee as it related to
issues under its jurisdiction.]
SENATE VOTE: 35-0
SUBJECT: Schoolbus safety: child safety alarm system
SUMMARY: Requires, on or before the beginning of the 2018-19
school year, every schoolbus, school pupil activity bus (SPAB),
and youth bus be equipped with a "child safety alarm system;"
imposes additional requirements on school districts to ensure
that a pupil is not left unattended on a bus. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires a school district's transportation plan to include
procedures to ensure that a pupil is not left unattended on a
schoolbus, SPAB, or youth bus.
2)Requires the county superintendent of schools, the
superintendent of a school district, or the owner or operator
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of a private school that provides transportation to or from a
school or school activity to notify the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) within five calendar days of discovery that a
driver of a schoolbus, SPAB, or youth bus has left the vehicle
with an unsupervised pupil onboard.
3)Provides that being reported as leaving a pupil unsupervised
onboard a schoolbus, SPAB, or youth bus is grounds for the
refusal to issue or revocation of a schoolbus, SPAB, or youth
bus driver certificate.
4)Requires the Department of the California Highway Patrol (CHP)
to adopt, by January 1, 2018, regulations governing the
specifications, installation, and use of child safety alarm
systems.
5)Requires, on or before the beginning of the 2018-19 school
year, each schoolbus, SPAB, and youth bus shall be equipped
with an operational child safety alarm system.
6)Defines "child safety alarm system" as a device located at the
interior rear of a vehicle that requires the driver to
manually contact the device before exiting the vehicle,
thereby prompting the driver to inspect the entirety of the
interior of the vehicle before exiting.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Defines "schoolbus" as any motor vehicle, other than a SPAB,
designed, used, or maintained for the transportation of any
school pupil at or below the 12th-grade level to or from a
public or private school or to or from public or private
school activities.
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2)Defines "student pupil activity bus" as any motor vehicle,
other than a schoolbus, operated by a common carrier, or by
and under the exclusive jurisdiction of a publicly owned or
operated transit system, or by a passenger charter-party
carrier, used under a contractual agreement between a school
and carrier to transport school pupils at or below the
12th-grade level to or from a public or private school
activity, or used to transport pupils to or from residential
schools, when the pupils are received and discharged at
off-highway locations where a parent or adult designated by
the parent is present to accept the pupil or place the pupil
on the bus.
3)Defines "charter-party carrier of passengers" (CPC) as a
person engaged in the transportation of persons by motor
vehicle for compensation over any public highway.
4)Requires the county superintendent of schools, the
superintendent of a school district, or the owner or operator
of a private school that provides transportation to or from a
school or school activity, to prepare a transportation safety
plan containing procedures for school personnel to follow to
ensure the safe transport of pupils, as specified.
5)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to
contract for the transportation of pupils attending schools
within the district to and from any exposition or fair, school
activities, or other activities that the governing board
determines to be for the benefit of the pupils, in this state,
and may pay for the transportation out of any funds of the
district available for the purpose.
6)Prohibits a person from operating a schoolbus or SPAB without
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proper certification issued by DMV and requires any person
seeking to renew a certificate to drive a schoolbus or SPAB to
have successfully completed at least 10 hours of original or
renewal classroom instruction or behind-the-wheel or
in-service training every 12 months.
7)Authorizes DMV to refuse to issue or to revoke a schoolbus,
SPAB, or youth bus driver certificate, or a certificate for a
vehicle used for the transportation of developmentally
disabled persons, for specified causes.
8)Requires specialized equipment in schoolbuses such as seat
belts and external lighting systems.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: According to the author, there have been at least
eight instances of children being left alone and unsupervised on
schoolbuses for hours at a time in California. In one
particular incident in 2015, a 19 year-old special-needs pupil
passed away after being left alone on a hot schoolbus for
several hours at the end of a home-to-school trip in Whittier.
The author states that SB 1072 would protect children getting to
and from school by establishing safe pupil transportation
procedures to help prevent children from being left on school
buses unattended. These procedures include the installation of
child safety alarm systems on vehicles that transport children.
These systems tie directly into a vehicle's electrical and
computer systems to trigger the alarm system of the vehicle when
the ignition is disengaged. The driver of the vehicle must then
walk to the back of the bus to manually disarm the alarm,
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prompting the driver to check the vehicle for children.
According to the author, the Los Angeles Unified School District
installed these systems on its fleet of 1,300 schoolbuses at a
cost of $194,000, or approximately $150 per bus. The costs of
these systems vary based on the vendor and the complexity of the
system and the electrical and computer systems of the vehicles
in which they are installed. Similar alarm systems are required
in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Wisconsin.
In addition to the alarm system requirement, this bill adds
leaving a pupil unattended on a bus to the causes for which DMV
may refuse to issue or may revoke a schoolbus or SPAB driver
certificate. In order to be issued a bus driver certificate, a
driver must hold a driver's license and pass a medical exam,
submit fingerprints, pass a first-aid exam, meet with the CHP
bus coordinator, and take an on-road driving exam. Currently,
that certificate can be revoked on grounds such as a violent
felony conviction or a sex offense. Under this bill, a school
district would be required to report when a driver leaves a
pupil unattended on a bus to DMV.
SB 1072 also requires school districts to include procedures for
school personnel to follow to ensure that a pupil is not left
unattended on a bus in the district's transportation safety plan
required under current law.
Schoolbuses vs. motorcoaches. In addition to requiring the
installation of child safety alarm systems in schoolbuses, this
bill requires their installation in SPABs. While schoolbuses
are required to have specific design elements, such as a rear
exit door, and are most commonly used for home-to-school trips,
SPABs are often motorcoaches operated by a CPC contracted by a
school district for a specific purpose, such as a field trip or
transportation to a sporting event. These motorcoaches often do
not function exclusively as SPABs; for example, they may
transport pupils in the morning for a field trip under a
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contract with a school district, adults in the afternoon for a
business meeting under contract with a corporation, and seniors
in the evening for a trip to a casino under contract with a
retirement facility.
While the experiences of the Los Angeles Unified School District
suggests the installation of these devices may not be
cost-prohibitive, schoolbuses - the vehicles in the district's
example - generally have electrical and computer systems that
are easily modified to allow for the installation of a device
such as a child safety alarm system, due to the electrical
wiring located in the rear of the vehicle associated with the
exit door. Motorcoaches, operating as SPABs, generally have
different design requirements and more complex electrical and
computer systems that are not designed to be modified or
hardwired with an external alarm system. According to the
California Bus Association, its members estimate the cost per
bus to retrofit a vehicle's electrical and computer systems to
accommodate an external alarm system at $7,000. CHP estimates
the number of motorcoaches operated by commercial carriers in
California at approximately 13,000. While not all these
vehicles function as SPABs and the cost would likely fluctuate
from vehicle to vehicle, the true cost of retrofitting the
state's CPC bus fleet could be considerable. The author's
office has provided committee staff with a list of eight
commercial carriers that they say have already installed an
alarm system as evidence that it is not cost prohibitive.
However, each of these carriers has provided information that
they have not installed an alarm system on motorcoaches.
Arguments in support. Supporters argue that student safety is a
top priority and that an alarm system is an effective tool, when
combined with conscientious driver safety checks, to safeguard
the transport of students. They also argue that an alarm system
is a simple, low cost preventive measure that can save lives,
especially among students with intellectual and developmental
disabilities.
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Arguments in opposition. Opponents argue that an alarm system
is not needed on commercially operated motorcoaches,
because-unlike on schoolbuses-there is always an adult chaperone
on board. They have asked for an amendment that would exempt
SPABs from the alarm requirement for buses if both of the
following conditions are met:
The bus is not used exclusively to transport pupils; and
If the pupils are accompanied by a chaperone designated
by a school official.
Opponents argue that these conditions would ensure pupil safety
and state that there has never been a case of a pupil being left
behind on a motorcoach due to the presence of chaperones.
However, the author's office has provided committee staff with a
newspaper report of a motorcoach in Florida pulling away from
the drop-off point with a special education pupil aboard before
the chaperone had finished the head count. The author rejected
these amendments when the bill was heard in the Transportation
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California State Council on Developmental Disabilities
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Los Angeles Unified School District
3 individuals
Opposition
All West Coach Lines
Amador State Lines
Antelope Valley Airport Express, Inc.
California Association of School Business Officials
California Bus Association
Discovery Luxury Motorcoach Charters
Fast Deer Bus Charter, Inc.
Goldfield Stage
H & L Charter Co., Inc.
Lin Lines
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Loop Transportation, Inc.
Orange Belt Stages
Pacific Coachways
Pacific Monarch Bus Charter
Preferred Charters
Royal Coach Tours
San Jose Charters
Sun Diego Charter Co.
Southern California Gray Line
Sundance Stagelines, Inc.
Via Trailways
1 individual
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Analysis Prepared by:Rick Pratt / ED. / (916)
319-2087