Interpretation ID: 18148.drn

Mr. Bill Hooker, ARM
Loss Control Technician
Park District Risk Management Agency
P. O. Box 4320
Wheaton, IL 60189-4320

Dear Mr. Hooker:

This responds to your letter to Donald McNamara, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) Region V Administrator, regarding our school bus regulations. You ask how NHTSA's requirements apply to various park and recreation associations, including those offering transportation services to the physically and mentally challenged.

Some background information may be helpful in answering your questions. Federal law and NHTSA's safety standards directly regulate only the manufacture and sale of new motor vehicles. We require any person selling or leasing a new vehicle to sell or lease a vehicle that meets all applicable standards. Under our regulations, a "bus" is any vehicle, including a van, that has a seating capacity of 11 persons or more. A "school bus" is any "bus" which is likely to be "used significantly" to transport "preprimary, primary, and secondary" students to or from school or related events (emphasis added). Therefore, a 15-passenger van that is likely to be used significantly to transport students is a "school bus." No dealer can sell a new van to transport students unless the van is certified as meeting our school bus safety standards. The seller risks substantial penalties if he or she sells a new van for pupil transportation (i.e., a "school bus"), and the van does not meet the school bus standards.

Because our school bus regulations mainly regulate the manufacturer and seller of new school buses (vans), I will focus my answer on whether a dealer is permitted to sell vans to your member associations. Keep in mind that NHTSA does not regulate the use of motor vehicles, which is governed by the States. Because each State is free to impose its own standards regarding use of motor vehicles, including school buses, you should contact State officials for information about Illinois' school bus regulations.

Your questions are restated below, followed by our answers.

Does [NHTSA's statutory authority] regarding buses and vans over 10 passengers apply to a municipal park and recreation agency who provides transportation to participants of all ages and in a wide variety of programs?

A dealer may not sell a new 15-passenger van to a "municipal park and recreation agency" if the van would be "used significantly" to transport "preprimary, primary, or secondary" students to or from school or related events. In such a case, the dealer must sell only a bus that meets NHTSA's school bus standards.

As far as we can tell from your letter, including the copy of the April 30, 1998 memorandum you enclosed from Maribeth Meyers, we believe that our school bus regulations could apply to some of the vehicles sold by dealers to your associations. They would apply to new vehicles that are sold to associations (a) that are connected to a school, e.g., that have an arrangement with a school to provide a recreational program in conjunction with the school; or (b) that are picking up or dropping off students at a school.

I am, for your information, enclosing a copy of our publication, "Frequently Asked Questions About Federal School Bus Safety Requirements." The answer to one of the questions describes "school related events." Other specific situations described in Ms. Meyers memo are addressed below.

If a public sector park and recreation district operates under an intergovernmental agreement with a public school district to provide transportation to and from academic/recreation activities (please see attached letter for specific examples), how might [NHTSA's statutory authority] apply?

This question can best be answered by addressing the three scenerios described in Ms. Meyers' memorandum.

A. Leisure Education - In this situation, "Leisure Education" takes place during the school day and is set up with individual teachers. Registration forms with waivers are sent to each teacher, then are sent home with each child. Before a Special Recreation Association (SRA) will transport any child, a completed registration form must be on file. There is no description of how frequently this activity is offered.

Because the activity takes place during the school day, and is established with the teachers, NHTSA would consider this a "school-related activity." We are unable to determine how often this activity is offered. However, if the activity is offered on a regular basis, we may deem the transportation for the activity to be "significant." If the use of the bus for this activity would be "significant," any dealer wishing to sell a new bus to transport students for this activity must sell only a bus that meets NHTSA's school bus standards.

B. Afterschool Programs - In this situation, SRAs offer afterschool programs where children are picked up at school, go to the program, and are then taken back to school. There is no description of how frequently this program is offered.

The buses are being used to transport children "from school," which is an activity that is covered by our school bus regulations ("to or from school or related events"). If the program is offered on a regular and frequent basis, e.g., several days a week, NHTSA believes it would be a "significant" use of the vehicle. If the bus would be "used significantly" to transport students "from school," NHTSA would require a dealer selling a new bus to sell only a bus that meets NHTSA's school bus standards.

C. Summer Cooperatives - In this situation, during the summer, students attend school in the morning and participate in recreation in the afternoon. Since many of the recreational activities are off school grounds, the students are transported by SRA vehicles for the recreation and then returned to the school afterwards.

NHTSA would consider the afternoon recreational activities to be "school-related." Further, the buses are used to transport children "to or from school." It would appear that the buses are "used significantly" for pupil transportation. As such, a dealer selling a bus to the SRA for the recreational activities must sell only buses that meet NHTSA's school bus standards.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Dorothy Nakama at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:VSA#571.3
d.9/3/98