Interpretation ID: aiam3939
House of Representatives
Washington
DC 20515;
Dear Mr. Cheney: Thank you for your letter requesting clarification of the Department' regulations pertaining to the use by school districts of commercial-type buses as activity buses. I appreciate this opportunity to respond to your concerns.; You requested clarification of whether the National Traffic and Moto Vehicle Safety Act prohibits the sale of a used commercial-type bus to a school district for use on activity trips. The Act only applies to the manufacture and sale of new motor vehicles. Thus, persons selling a *used* bus to a Wyoming school district are not subject to the Act's requirement to sell certified school buses, and a used commercial-type bus, regardless of its model year, may be sold as an activity bus.; You also had several questions about Highway Safety Program Standar No. 17, *Pupil Transportation Safety*. You are correct that states have the discretion to adopt all or part of Standard No. 17, and that the standard has no direct effect on the purchase of used buses by local school districts. Congress has given the Department the discretion under the Highway Safety Act not to insist that a State comply with every requirement of the highway safety standards. While the Department has stressed the importance of a strong pupil transportation program, consistent with Standard No. 17, the Department has not insisted that the States comply with every feature of the standard.; You asked whether Wyoming school districts can obtain an administrativ waiver from the requirements of Standard No. 17 if Wyoming has adopted the standard as its own policy. Since a state has the discretion to adopt and amend Standard No. 17 as it determines to be necessary for its highway safety program, the effect of Standard No. 17 on Wyoming school districts is a matter for the state to decide. An administrative waiver from NHTSA is therefore not necessary.; I trust this letter has clarified our regulations for school buses. With best wishes. Sincerely, Elizabeth Hanford Dole