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ACT No. 704
Regular Session, 2012
HOUSE BILL NO. 293
BY REPRESENTATIVE HARRISON
AN ACT1
To amend and reenact R.S. 17:491 and 492, relative to tenure of school bus operators; to2
provide relative to a school bus operator becoming a regular and permanent3
employee of the employing school board; to provide definitions; to provide4
applicability; to provide relative to the removal of certain operators; to provide an5
effective date; and to provide for related matters.6
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:7
Section 1. R.S. 17:491 and 492 are hereby amended and reenacted to read as8
follows: 9
§491. Definitions10
A. As used in this Subpart, the term "school bus operator" means any11
employee of any city, or parish, or other local public school board whose duty it is12
to transport students in any city or parish board school bus or activity bus to and13
from any school of suitable grade approved by the state department Department of14
education Education or to and from any school related school-related activity. Such15
employee shall be certified to have participated in any school bus drivers16
instructional program or in-service training provided by the state department17
Department of education Education as provided for in R.S. 17:497.2 17:497.4, shall18
have attained the age of twenty-one years, and shall be certified to have passed any19
physical examination required by the department. It shall be unlawful for anyone not20
certified as provided herein to transport school students to and from any such school.21
B. Employees of parish and city, parish, and other local public school boards22
who drive buses to colleges or universities may, at the discretion of the employing23 ENROLLEDHB NO. 293
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school board, be exempted from the age requirements provided herein, by this1
Section but shall meet those age requirements provided in R.S. 17:160.2
* * *3
§492. Probation and tenure of bus operators4
A. Each school bus operator shall serve a probationary term of three years5
reckoned from the date of his first employment in the city, parish, or other local6
public school system in which the operator is serving his probation. During the7
probationary term , the city, parish, or other local public school board may dismiss8
or discharge any operator upon the written recommendation of the parish local9
superintendent of schools accompanied by valid reasons therefor.10
B. Any Except as provided in Subsection D of this Section, any school bus11
operator found unsatisfactory by the parish school board at the expiration of the12
probationary term shall be notified in writing by the board that he has been13
discharged or dismissed; in the absence of such notification such probationary school14
bus operator shall automatically become a regular and permanent operator in the15
employ of the school board of the parish school system in which he has successfully16
served his probationary term.; provided that all school bus operators in the employ17
of any parish school board on July 26, 1944, and who have served satisfactorily as18
school bus operators for more than three consecutive years and who shall be19
employed for the school term of 1944-45, are declared to be regular and permanent20
school bus operators in the employ of the school board of that parish.21
C. In order to acquire tenure under the provisions hereof, each school bus22
operator shall personally operate and drive the school bus he is employed to operate;23
no one shall acquire tenure in the operation of more than one school bus.24
D.(1) The provisions of Subsection B of this Section, relative to a school bus25
operator becoming a regular and permanent operator, are not applicable to any26
school bus operator whose date of first employment with the school system is July27
1, 2012, or thereafter.28
(2) After the expiration of the probationary term provided in Subsection A29
of this Section, a school bus operator whose date of first employment with a school30 ENROLLEDHB NO. 293
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system is July 1, 2012, or thereafter, may be removed from his position as provided1
by the personnel policy of the employing school board.2
Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not3
signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature4
by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If5
vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become6
effective on the day following such approval.7
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED: