Interpretation ID: 19187.drn

Larry Schooley, Senior Director
Bancroft School
Hopkins Lane
P.O. Box 20
Haddonfield, NJ 08033-0018

Dear Mr. Schooley:

This responds to your request for an "exemption" from a statute that you describe as being "passed as of July 31, 1998, requiring all students to be transported in a school bus." Your letter describes the Bancroft School as a "private school for the handicapped." We cannot grant your exemption since there is no Federal statute such as the one you describe, requiring school bus transportation for students. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has no authority to do so, and does not require any school to transport students by school bus only. Transportation for students in your school would be determined by State law.

By way of background, NHTSA is authorized to issue and enforce Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles. Our statute at 49 U.S.C. 30112 requires any person selling or leasing a new vehicle to sell or lease a vehicle that meets all applicable standards. Accordingly, persons selling or leasing a new "school bus" must sell or lease a vehicle that meets the safety standards applicable to school buses. Our statute defines a "schoolbus" as any vehicle that is designed for carrying a driver and more than 10 passengers and which, NHTSA decides, is likely to be "used significantly" to transport "preprimary, primary, and secondary" students to or from school or related events. 49 U.S.C. 30125. By regulation, the capacity threshold for school buses corresponds to that of buses -- vehicles designed for carrying more than ten (10) persons. For example, a 15-person van that is likely to be used significantly to transport students is a "school bus."

In general, NHTSA's safety standards directly regulate the manufacture and sale of new motor vehicles, not their use. Each State has the authority to set its own standards regarding the use of motor vehicles, including school buses.

Dorothy Nakama of my staff has discussed your letter with Ms. Linda Wells, Director, Office of Pupil Transportation, New Jersey Department of Education. Ms. Wells indicated that the issue raised in your letter may concern a matter falling within New Jersey's jurisdiction. Therefore, please address your concerns to:

Ms. Linda Wells, Director
Office of Pupil Transportation
New Jersey Department of Education
P. O. Box 500
Trenton, NJ 08625-0500

In closing, we wish to emphasize that school buses are one of the safest forms of transportation in this country, and that we therefore strongly recommend that all buses that are used to transport school children be certified as meeting NHTSA's school bus safety standards. Further, using 15-person vans that do not meet NHTSA's school bus standards to transport students could result in increased liability in the event of a crash. Since such liability would be determined by State law, you may wish to consult with your attorney and insurance carrier for advice on this issue.

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
cc: Ms. Linda Wells, Director
Office of Pupil Transportation
New Jersey Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 500
Trenton, NJ 08625-0500
ref:571#VSA
d.2/26/99