Message from Elisa Hanley, Branch Manager
Welcome back! I hope everyone was able to get a little vacation in between the summer responsibilities of training, conferences and routing.
We have quite a bit of information to share with everyone, so please pass this information along to your school bus drivers, driver trainers, inspectors, technicians, etc., to keep everyone informed.
New Director of Transportation Class
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) hosted a two-day training on April 24-25 that 24 new Directors attended, along with a five-day training in Frankfort on July 17-21.
The agendas were packed full of great information. There were presenters from all areas that interact with pupil transportation. This includes McKinney-Vento, special needs, Kentucky State Police, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Four mentors from around the state gave their perspectives on various areas of transportation. In all, there were more than 20 presenters!
In the feedback received, one director stated, “Overall this has been one of the best and most useful trainings that I've been to in 24 years. You were extremely organized and put together a group of presenters that were both knowledgeable and good speakers. I can't say enough good things about you and your KDE staff.”
We would love to see you at the next training for new directors! It will be held Oct. 24-26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. Superintendents, directors and assistant directors are all welcome. However, the class will be limited to 25 attendees and priority will be given to new directors and superintendents.
Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) credit will be offered. This will be the same information that was provided during the summer training class. Register for the Directors of Transportation Training Class - Part 1 training.
What we do, we do for the students and for our districts. We work hard to ensure you are receiving the information you need to do the best job that you can. If at any time you feel KDE should provide training on a specific topic, please don’t hesitate to let us know. You can submit ideas for training topics by completing the Future Training Topics SharePoint submission form.
Driver Training Message from Joe Shepherd
What a busy summer! We want to thank the 622 driver trainers who attended one of our twelve 6-hour recertification update training classes this summer.
Thank you to the site trainers and directors in Boone, Daviess, Rowan, Fayette, McCracken, Pike, Pulaski and Jefferson Counties, as well as the Kentucky Association of Pupil Transportation and the Student Transportation Association of Kentucky, for helping to facilitate the recertification training classes. Everything went well and it was great seeing everyone in person.
I also want to thank the driver trainers who assisted this summer with the School Bus Driver Training Instructor workshops, along with Franklin, Jefferson, Anderson and Fayette counties for the use of their buses and equipment. We had 72 individuals complete our School Bus Driver Training Instructor workshops to become certified driver trainers. The reviews from the attendees were glowing. If you’re interested in assisting us on the track next summer, please send an email to Joe Shepherd.
We now have a total of 694 certified driver training instructors across the Commonwealth.
Remember, anyone who is not a certified school bus driver in Kentucky must go through the curriculum; regardless of where they’re from and how many years they’ve driven. If they have never driven in Kentucky, or if it has been more than 12 months since their last 8- hour update, they must go through the core curriculum. No exceptions.
Please call me if you have issues with entry-level driver training. I know many of you don’t access the Training Provider Registry regularly. I am here to help you get your candidates entered in the system.
Thank you,
Joe Shepherd
(502) 564-5279, Ext. 4411
Wolfe County receives Kentucky's first electric school bus
Wolfe County received the first electric school bus in Kentucky on Aug. 7. The delivery is part of an effort funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus Program. (Photo by Caleb Bates, Aug. 7, 2023)
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The Wolfe County Board of Education celebrated the delivery of Kentucky’s first electric school bus with a community gathering at Campton Elementary on Aug. 7.
The delivery is part of an effort funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Clean School Bus Program. School districts were able to apply for funding and were then selected through a lottery.
In all, approximately 60 electric buses are on order for 10 Kentucky school districts this year. Each selected district will receive different buses depending on their infrastructure and needs.
You can view KDE's entire article in Kentucky Teacher.
Wolfe County Board of Education leaders, including Superintendent Kenny Bell (third from left), joined representatives from Thomas Built Buses and Boyd Truck Centers at Campton Elementary in Wolfe County to celebrate the delivery of Kentucky's first electric school bus. (Photo by Caleb Bates, Aug. 7, 2023)
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KDE reached out to Wolfe County's Director of Transportation John Halsey and he had this to say:
How are things going with Bus #2230?
"Everything is going great so far with the EV school bus. We have traveled around 2,600 miles since school started on Aug. 9 with no issues. Each week I move bus No. 2230 to different parts of the district, allowing all drivers a chance to drive it.
"The battery range and mileage mostly have stayed the same on each route except for one. On most routes, we are averaging 100 miles on a 52% charge, but on the other route, we are only getting 50 miles on a 47% charge. The reason for the drop in mileage is that I moved the bus to the Red River Gorge area of the county, which is a little rougher terrain than the other routes."
Do you have any concerns?
"I am not sure how an electric school bus would work further in the southeast areas of Kentucky. Only time will tell. I have heard reports of the batteries going bad. We purchased the extended warranty, because we knew when the time came to replace them, it would be a large cost for our school district. We plan to sell the school bus at the end of the 12-year battery warranty."
Has anything about the bus impressed or surprised you?
"I submitted our daily mileage sheet and percentage used to East Kentucky Power to see what kind of mileage we were getting. I was really surprised to find out it costs our district .5 cents per mile to travel, compared to .60 cents per mile for diesel. This is only comparing electric to diesel, not including wear and tear."
Has the behavior of the students changed at all?
"I noticed while driving the first few days of school that the noise level was down and the students' behavior was also a lot better. Students stayed in their seats and did not yell across the bus at one another."
What feedback have you received from your technician?
"Our technician loves it. We don’t have to worry about changing the oil every 6,000 miles, DPF filters, DEF fluid, sensors, changing fuel filters and everything under the hood. It’s clean and easy to maintain. We are looking forward to receiving our remaining three electric school buses sometime between October-December."
Director Reminder
Directors, please review the Pupil Transportation District Contact List on SharePoint to verify your district’s contact information is accurate. If it is incorrect or if you have any questions about the roles listed, please email Mikala Ferguson.
Don't forget to review KDE's list of Certified Driver Trainers and Certified Inspectors on SharePoint. If there are any employees no longer employed by your school district, please email Mikala Ferguson.
Lastly, Directors who are not district users in the Driver Database should register as soon as possible. This will allow directors to view who has access to the database, driver information and run various reports.
Directors should verify several times a year who has access to the database by clicking on the District Users button. It is imperative to remove a driver trainer's access once they leave a district.
To register for KDE's Driver Database or remove a Driver Trainer's access, please email Mikala Ferguson or Monica Napier.
12-15 Passenger Vans
KDE continues to see 12-15 passenger vans in school districts while doing district reviews. Dealers cannot sell your district 15-passenger vans to transport students. They can be used for maintenance, but not students.
If your district has one and it is used to transport students, the district must stop using it immediately. Only 9-passenger or less vehicles may be used. Seats cannot be removed from the vehicle to make it 9-passenger or less. The body is still a 12-15 passenger body.
An easy way to tell the capacity of a vehicle is to look on the inside of the driver’s door. If it is not there, you may need to look elsewhere on the vehicle or on the title.
Important Bus Driver Reminder
Directors and driver trainers, please share this message with all of your bus drivers.
During the past year, there have been several instances of school bus drivers over correcting when they go off of the road. Most often this happens going into or coming out of a curve.
School bus drivers must be trained to slow down and be intentional to not jerk the steering wheel when they feel trouble on the road. They should not apply the brakes, but just take their foot off the pedal and allow the bus to naturally slow down. The time between taking their foot off the pedal and slowing down will give them time to steady the bus before bringing the bus back onto the road or stopping all together.
Remind drivers to turn as little as possible. Avoid over-correcting or slamming on the breaks. Following these steps can help them avoid a collision or rollover.
Insulin Dependent Drivers
KDE is still receiving calls from driver trainers regarding school bus drivers who are insulin dependent. Since 2020, this has been discussed in 6-hour recertification updates and is included in 702 KAR 5:080.
Drivers who are taking insulin to control their diabetes may be eligible to drive a school bus. As of Sept. 1, 2020, 702 KAR 5:080 was updated to state, “An otherwise medically and physically eligible school bus driver with diabetes mellitus, may be employed as a school bus driver, if the driver possesses a valid federal Medical Examiner's Certificate as required under 49 C.F.R. Part 391.41.”
Certified medical examiners are the only individuals who can determine if the person is in acceptable health to drive. The certified medical examiner often will require additional documentation from the driver's doctor.
Please reference the Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus Assessment Form MCSA-5870 for additional information.
Alternate Standards, Federal Waivers, and State Restrictions
KDE has seen a handful of instances where school districts have hired a school bus driver, or allowed a current driver to continue to drive, while having passed the CDL medical exam through using the alternative standards documentation. If KDE is made aware of a driver who has required an alternate standard to pass their CDL medical exam, that school bus driver will be decertified effective immediately.
Drivers may receive a CDL clearance from their medical examiner, HOWEVER, they will not receive a clearance from KDE as we are more restrictive than the federal requirements.
The only alternative standard that is currently accepted is for insulin-dependent diabetes.
In addition, the certified medical examiner (CME) may determine a driver is able to drive with specific medications. Please review your board policy to determine if the school district allows certain classes of medication to transport students. KDE cannot make this determination and leaves it up to the CME to do so. However, a school district may be more restrictive and eliminate the allowance of specific medications or classes of drugs. Please see your local board of education's legal advisor should you have any questions.
School Bus Safety Training
As a reminder, all students shall receive school bus safety training and participate in bus evacuations, whether they ride a bus daily or not. The purpose of all students participating is that students who do not ride school buses regularly are less familiar with what to do in the event of an evacuation, the general layout and the emergency exits of the school bus. The training and evacuations can be provided on the same day.
KDE has created short school bus safety training videos – which are available on KDE's School Bus Safety webpage – for K-12 to discuss what students should do as pedestrians before and after getting off the bus. These can be used to enhance students' knowledge and prompt discussions. School bus evacuation videos also can improve and explain what the students will be practicing, but they cannot be used to replace the evacuations.
Federal law requires all school bus drivers to instruct passengers on the location and operation of emergency exits. KDE has created a School Bus Evacuation Procedures and Verification Form for field trips. Districts can use this to ensure drivers are providing the required instructions. This information can save their lives if an accident occurs while on the trip.
School Bus Inventory
All Kentucky public and independent school districts must provide the inventory data and ensure that all school buses are listed in KDE's school bus inventory.
School bus inventory is updated once a year, starting in October and finalized in December. The school bus inventory process typically occurs in two stages.
Stage 1 of school bus inventory is due by Oct. 30, 2023, and can be found on KDE's School Bus Inventory SharePoint webpage.
Because there is an influx of new directors and to help answer frequent questions, KDE has created a helpful school bus inventory tutorial video and instruction guide. We highly encourage you to watch the tutorial video and thoroughly read the instructions before submitting to KDE.
Please send the notated Excel spreadsheets to pupiltrans@education.ky.gov. Do not email updates directly to KDE staff. Your corrections will be made manually by KDE. Your patience is greatly appreciated during this time. You may be contacted if there are any questions related to your submission.
Keep in mind, this is a multi-step process. KDE will send an email regarding stage 2 in November requesting verification that the changes we made are correct. If they are not correct, we will fix them. The final inventory will be complete by KDE in December.
Be sure this information is accurate. This does affect your finances.
School Bus Purchasing
KDE would like to apologize for the delay in purchasing school buses this year. As soon as pricing is provided to KDE's Pupil Transportation Branch, they will sent to all school districts.
During a normal year, school buses have a 180-day turnaround, but over the past few years there have been issues with the supply chain, including manufacturers changing bus designs and plants to make way for electric buses.
Any school district that would like to fully or partially fund their buses using Kentucky Interlocal School Transportation Association must contact Lincoln Theinert at RSA Advisors to access the required documentation. These orders must be placed no later than Nov. 15.
Any order that does not have all the required documentation or signatures is considered incomplete. Orders cannot be processed until all documentation for the order is received and properly completed.
Illegal Passing Survey Results
Thank you to the 47 districts that participated in the 2023 Illegal Passing Survey. In total, 1,880 school buses participated, with 1,434 vehicles passing the school buses illegally.
The illegal passing includes:
- 856 illegal passes in the morning;
- 95 mid-day;
- 483 in the afternoon;
- 1,056 of the passes were from the front;
- 1,423 from the left side;
- 378 from the rear;
- 11 on the right side of the school bus.
These numbers are staggering and continue to be a part of the discussion between KDE, legislators, state police, magistrates and anyone who will listen.
As community members, we urge you to contact the elected representatives in your area to discuss the problem and provide solutions. Many school districts are using stop arm cameras to help provide evidence to their local law enforcement and courts.
In addition, work with your local law enforcement to enhance their visibility in the areas of the routes with the highest issues. Our goal is to get the students to and from school safely. Working together can help accomplish this.
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