Interpretation ID: aiam4169
Acting Director
Division of School Traffic Safety and Emergency Planning
Indiana Department of Education
Room 229
Indianapolis
IN 46204-2798;
Dear Mr. Russell: This responds to your letter asking about NHTSA's regulations fo school buses and the relationship between State and Federal school bus definitions and regulations. I regret the delay in responding to your letter.; According to your letter, Indiana distinguishes 'special purpose buses' from 'school buses.' Under your State's law, 'school buses' are defined as motor vehicles, other than special purposes buses, designed for more than 10 passengers and used to transport school children. 'Special purpose buses' are motor vehicles accommodating more than six passengers used by schools to transport handicapped students to special programs, or school children and supervisors to extracurricular school activities. Special purpose buses are prohibited from being used on a regular basis to carry students between their residences and schools and are not required to meet any State identification, construction or equipment standards for school buses.; You asked whether Indiana's definitions of 'school buses' and 'specia purpose buses' conflict with our school bus definition, and how Federal law might preempt State law in this matter.; To begin, it is important to keep in mind how State and Federal schoo bus definitions and regulations differ in their application. The standards we have issued under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act apply to vehicles according to our motor vehicle type classifications regardless of the classifications used by the various states. Our safety standards apply to the manufacture and sale of new motor vehicles, including school buses. Our regulatory definitions, set forth in 49 CFR Part 571.3, define a 'school bus' as a motor vehicle designed to carry 10 or more passengers plus a driver, sold for purposes that include carrying students to or from school or related events. Our definitions do not include one for 'special purpose buses.' A vehicle that is designed to carry 10 or more passengers and meets the Indiana definition of 'special purpose buses' is considered a 'school bus' under Federal law since it is intended for pupil transportation, notwithstanding its exclusion from Indiana's school bus definition.; Therefore, each person selling 10-passenger or larger 'special purpos buses' is required under the Vehicle Safety Act to ensure that those vehicles are certified as school buses. Violation of this Federal requirement by sellers of new school buses is punishable by civil penalties of up to $1,000. The requirement applies to new school bus sellers regardless of whether a vehicle is considered a 'school bus' under the laws of a particular State.; Further, the preemption provisions in section 103(d) of the Vehicl Safety Act are not limited in their effect by the fact that this agency's classification of a vehicle differs from that of one or more of the States. Regardless of how Indiana classifies a vehicle, Indiana may not apply to that vehicle standards which cover the same aspects of performance as Federal standards but are not identical to the Federal standards. The only exception is a State may set higher standards of performance for vehicles procured for the State's own use.; A State's definition of a 'school bus' is, of course, determinative o the application of State requirements to the operation of school buses, such as inspection, maintenance and identification requirements. It appears that the provision in Indiana's definitions that special purpose buses are not 'school buses' excludes those vehicles from the application of Indiana's definitions that special purpose buses are not 'school buses' excludes those vehicles from the application of Indiana's school bus operational requirements. While Indiana is responsible for determining requirements for vehicles operating in that State, NHTSA recommends that each State consider carefully setting operational requirements for all vehicles used to carry school children. Recommendations for specific aspects of States' pupil transportation programs have been issued in Highway Safety Program Standard No. 17, *Pupil Transportation Safety* (copy enclosed), which was promulgated by NHTSA under the Highway Safety Act in connection with the Federal funding of State highway safety programs. While not required to do so, individual States have chosen to adopt some or all of Program Standard No. 17's recommendations and Indiana might want to consider them for their special purpose buses.; You asked whether schools are permitted at any time under Federal la to transport school children to or from school related activities in a vehicle other than a school bus. Strictly speaking, the answer is yes, for two reasons. This is because, first, the requirements of the Vehicle Safety Act apply to new school bus manufacturers and sellers, and not to school bus users. Therefore, we cannot prohibit schools from using noncomplying buses to transport children although we do prohibit the manufacture and sale of new noncomplying school buses. Second, manufacturers and dealers are required to sell complying school buses only if they sell new *buses* for pupil transportation purposes. Other types of vehicles, for example 'multipurpose passenger vehicles' (vehicles constructed on truck chassis which carry nine or fewer passengers), may be sold to carry school children to school or school-related events.; I hope this information is helpful. Please contact my office if yo have further questions.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel