Commissioner's Rules
Adopted New 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter BB, Commissioner's Rules on Reporting Requirements, §61.1028, Reporting of Bus Accidents
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citation (PDF)
II. Text of Adopted New 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter BB, Commissioner's Rules on Reporting Requirements, §61.1028, Reporting of Bus Accidents (PDF)
SUMMARY:
The rule action presented in this item will be filed as adopted with the Texas Register under the commissioner's rulemaking authority. This item adopts new 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter BB, Commissioner's Rules on Reporting Requirements, §61.1028, Reporting of Bus Accidents. The adopted new rule implements the requirements of the Texas Education Code (TEC), §34.015, as added by House Bill (HB) 323, 80th Texas Legislature, 2007, that charges the Texas Education Agency (TEA) with collecting from school districts annually information on accidents involving the districts' buses and reporting this information.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
TEC, §34.015.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
August 28, 2008.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES:
HB 323, 80th Texas Legislature, 2007, added TEC, §34.015. This section requires the TEA to collect from school districts annually information on accidents involving the districts' buses and to report this information.
Adopted new 19 TAC §61.1028, Reporting of Bus Accidents, implements the TEC, §34.015, by establishing applicable definitions and specific requirements for reporting bus accidents. The adopted new rule requires school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report to the TEA annually the number of bus accidents. Each bus accident report must include the date of the accident; the type of bus involved; whether the bus was equipped with seat belts and, if so, what kind; the number of students and adults involved in the accident; the number and types of injuries sustained by the bus passengers; and whether injured passengers were wearing seat belts and, if so, what kind.
In response to public comment, subsection (a) has been modified to clarify several definitions, and subsection (b)(1)(C) has been modified to specify that the phrase "type of bus" refers to one of the buses defined in subsection (a).
FISCAL IMPACT:
The TEA has determined that there are no fiscal implications to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed rule action. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT:
The adopted new rule makes available to the public on the TEA website information on accidents involving school district and open-enrollment charter school buses.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS:
The adopted new rule requires school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report information on bus accidents to the TEA annually via an online bus accident reporting system.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS:
The requirement for school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report bus accident information may necessitate the keeping of local records or logs of these accidents.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The public comment period on the proposal began May 30, 2008, and ended June 30, 2008. Following is a summary of public comments received and corresponding agency responses regarding the proposed new 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter BB, Commissioner's Rules on Reporting Requirements, §61.1028, Reporting of Bus Accidents.
Comment: The transportation training and safety specialist from Northside Independent School District (ISD) commented that the phrase "type of bus" in subsection (b)(1)(C) should be clarified. The commenter suggested specifying in subsection (a) what is meant by "type of bus."
Agency Response: The agency agrees. Subsection (b)(1)(C) has been modified to indicate that "type of bus" refers to one of the types of buses specified and defined in subsection (a). Also, in subsection (a), each definition based on a Texas Transportation Code definition has been modified to reference the applicable section of the Texas Transportation Code.
Comment: The transportation training and safety specialist from Northside ISD commented that bus passengers may be secured by restraint systems other than standard seat belts. The commenter suggested that a list of all the types of seat belts and restraints be provided in subsection (b)(1)(G) so that the data collected would be more accurate.
Agency Response: The agency disagrees and maintains language as published as proposed. TEC, §34.015, requires reports of bus accidents to include information on whether a bus was equipped with, and whether injured passengers were wearing, seat belts. A seat belt is necessarily either a lap belt or a three-point lap/shoulder belt, not any other type of restraint. The online survey through which school districts and open-enrollment charter schools report accidents allows respondents to specify which type of seat belt a bus was equipped with and which type injured passengers were wearing.
ALTERNATIVES:
None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES:
None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Adam Jones, Deputy Commissioner, Finance and Administration
Shirley Beaulieu, Associate Commissioner, Finance / CFO
Lisa Dawn-Fisher, Deputy Associate Commissioner, School Finance
For additional information, email rules@tea.state.tx.us.