Section 281.43.10. Permitted uses listed.

School buses may be used to transport pupils under the following conditions:

       43.10(1) The program is a part of the regular or extracurricular program of a public school and has been so adopted and made a matter of record in the minutes of all the boards involved.

       43.10(2) The pupils are enrolled in a public school.

       43.10(3) The program or activity must be sponsored by a school or group of schools cooperatively and be under the direct control of a qualified teacher or recreational or playground director of a school district.

        a.           A regularly certificated teacher must be in charge of the program. Several or all schools may engage the same instructor on a cooperative basis.

        b.           In transporting pupils to Red Cross swimming classes a superintendent of schools may be designated by action of the district board as the supervisor or director of the activity and may use the Red Cross instructor to carry on the actual instruction in swimming.

        c.           If the Red Cross instructor holds a regular teacher’s certificate issued by the board of educational examiners, the instructor can be named as general supervisor of the activity by the several schools.

       43.10(4) The bus shall be driven by a regularly approved driver holding an appropriate driver’s license and a school bus driver’s authorization. In addition, the buses must be accompanied by a member of the faculty or other employee of the school or a parent or other adult volunteer as authorized by a school administrator who will be responsible for the conduct and the general supervision of the pupils on the bus and at the place of the activity. If the faculty member is an approved driver, that person can act both as a driver and faculty sponsor.

       43.10(5) School buses may be used by an organization of, or sponsoring activities for, senior citizens, children, handicapped, and other persons and groups, and for transportation of persons other than pupils to activities in which pupils from the school are participants or are attending the activity or for which the school is a sponsor under the following conditions:

        a.           The “school bus” signs shall be covered and the flashing warning lamps and stop arm made inoperable when the bus is being used in a nonschool-sponsored activity.

        b.           Transportation outside the state of Iowa shall not be provided without the approval of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the United States Department of Transportation.

        c.           A chaperone shall accompany each bus to assist the passengers in boarding and disembarking from the bus and to aid them in case of illness or injury.

        d.           The driver of the bus shall be approved by the local board of education and must possess an appropriate driver’s license and a school bus driver’s authorization.

        e.           The driver of the bus shall observe the maximum speed limits for school buses at all times.

       43.10(6) Seating.

        a.           Each passenger shall have a comfortable seat.

        b.           Student passengers shall have a minimum of 13 inches of allowable seating per person.

        c.           For adult groups, no more than two persons shall occupy a 39-inch seat.

        d.           Standees are prohibited in all situations, whether the bus is transporting students or adults.

        e.           The maximum number of passengers shall never exceed the rated capacity of the vehicle as it is equipped.