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AN ACT relating to school bus equipment. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 156.153 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) (a) All school buses for which bids are made or bid contracts awarded shall meet 4
the standards and specifications of the Kentucky Department of Education. 5
The term "school bus," as used in this section, shall mean any motor vehicle 6
which meets the standards and specifications for school buses as provided by 7
law or by the standards or specifications of the Kentucky Department of 8
Education authorized by law and used solely in transporting school children 9
and school employees to and from school under the supervision and control 10
and at the direction of school authorities, and shall further include school bus 11
accessory equipment and supplies and replacement equipment considered to 12
be reasonably adaptable for purchase from price contract agreements. 13
(b) The standards and specifications for accessory equipment and supplies and 14
replacement equipment under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be 15
based on federal safety standards and shall not discriminate among 16
manufacturers unless the Kentucky Department of Education finds 17
evidence that a specific manufacturer's product is defective or dangerous to 18
use. 19
(c) The Kentucky Department of Education shall provide the list of standards 20
and specifications for accessory equipment and supplies and replacement 21
equipment to the Finance and Administration Cabinet for the purposes of 22
maintaining the price contract list required under Section 2 of this Act. 23
(2) Except in cases of emergencies or for the transportation of students with 24
disabilities, only school buses as defined in subsection (1) of this section shall be 25
used for transporting students to and from school along regular bus routes. Districts 26
may use district-owned vehicles that were designed and built by the manufacturer 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1078
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for passenger transportation when transporting nine (9) or fewer passengers, 1
including the driver, for approved school activities. Vehicles used under this 2
subsection shall be clearly marked as transporting students and shall be safety 3
inspected no less than once every thirty (30) days. 4
(3) As part of its regular procedure for establishing and updating school bus standards 5
and specifications, the Kentucky Department of Education shall consider allowing 6
school buses to operate using clean transportation fuels, as defined in KRS 186.750. 7
If the department determines that school buses may operate using clean 8
transportation fuels while maintaining the same or a higher degree of safety as fuels 9
currently allowed, it shall update its standards and specifications to allow for such 10
use. 11
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 45A IS CREATED TO 12
READ AS FOLLOWS: 13
The Finance and Administration Cabinet shall compile and maintain a list detailing 14
the price contracts for the procurement of school bus accessory equipment and supplies 15
and replacement equipment that meet the standards and specifications adopted by the 16
Kentucky Department of Education under Section 1 of this Act. The cabinet shall 17
provide districts with access to the list. 18
Section 3. (1) By August 1, 2024, any school district may file a request for 19
reimbursement with the Kentucky Department of Education for any tires purchased 20
during the 2022-2023 school year that: 21
(a) Were purchased through a procurement service established by statute; 22
(b) Met the federal standards to operate on the district's school buses; 23
(c) Were not on the Kentucky Department of Education's list of tires meeting 24
standards and specifications; and 25
(d) Were subsequently replaced by the purchase of tires on the department's list. 26
(2) The district shall submit the evidence of the purchase to the commissioner of 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1078
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education, and the department shall reimburse the district from the department's funds. 1