Indiana § 20-27-9-5 - Use of special purpose bus; operator requirements

§ 20-27-9-5. Use of special purpose bus; operator requirements

Sec. 5. (a) A special purpose bus or an appropriate vehicle may be used:

(1) by a school corporation to provide regular transportation of a student between one (1) school and another school or between the student's residence and the school;

(2) to transport students and their supervisors, including coaches, managers, and sponsors to athletic or other extracurricular school activities and field trips;

(3) by a school corporation to provide transportation between an individual's residence and the school for an individual enrolled in a special program for the habilitation or rehabilitation of persons with a developmental or physical disability, and, if applicable, the individual's sibling;

(4) to transport homeless students under IC 20-27-12;

(5) by a school corporation to provide regular transportation of an individual described in section 4 or 7 of this chapter between the individual's residence and the school; and

(6) to transport students to career and technical education programs under IC 20-27-12.1.

(b) The mileage limitation of section 3 of this chapter does not apply to special purpose buses.

(c) The operator of a special purpose bus or appropriate vehicle must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age, be authorized by the school corporation, pass an expanded criminal history check and expanded child protection index check as provided under IC 20-26-5-10, and meet the following requirements:

(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2)(B) and in addition to the license required under this subdivision, if the special purpose bus has a capacity of less than sixteen (16) passengers, the operator must hold a valid:

(A) operator's;

(B) chauffeur's;

(C) public passenger chauffeur's; or

(D) commercial driver's;

license.

(2) If the special purpose bus:

(A) has a capacity of more than fifteen (15) passengers; or

(B) is used to provide transportation to an individual described in subsection (a)(3) or (a)(5);

the operator must meet the requirements for a school bus driver set out in IC 20-27-8.

(d) A special purpose bus is not required to be constructed, equipped, or painted as specified for school buses under this article or by the rules of the committee.

(e) An owner or operator of a special purpose bus, other than a special purpose bus owned or operated by a school corporation or a nonpublic school, is subject to IC 8-2.1.

[Pre-2005 Elementary and Secondary Education Recodification Citation: 20-9.1-5-2.6.]

As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.11. Amended by P.L.191-2006, SEC.1; P.L.99-2007, SEC.171; P.L.146-2009, SEC.6; P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.318; P.L.228-2017, SEC.2; P.L.144-2019, SEC.14; P.L.270-2019, SEC.21; P.L.155-2020, SEC.10; P.L.168-2022, SEC.9.