Use of Vehicles Other than School Buses (Vans) for Student Transportation

Ohio House Bill 33 of the 135th General Assembly changed some aspects of the requirements for vehicles originally designed for not more than nine passengers and their drivers, effective October 3, 2023.

Effective Beginning October 3, 2023

ORC 4511.76 (E)

A chartered nonpublic school or a community school may own and operate, or contract with a vendor that supplies, a vehicle originally designed for not more than nine passengers, not including the driver, to transport students to and from regularly scheduled school sessions when one of the following applies:

  1. A student's school district of residence has declared the transportation of the student impractical pursuant to section 3327.02 of the Revised Code;
  2. A student does not live within thirty minutes of the chartered nonpublic school or the community school, as applicable, and the student's school district is not required to transport the student under section 3327.01 of the Revised Code.
  3. The governing authority of the chartered nonpublic or the community school has offered to provide the transportation for its students in lieu of the students being transported by their school district of residence.

ORC 4511.76 (F)

A school district may own and operate, or contract with a vendor that supplies a vehicle originally designed for not more than nine passengers, not including the driver, to transport students to and from regularly scheduled school sessions, if both of the following apply to the operation of the vehicle:
  1. The number of students to be transported is not more than nine;
  2. The students attend a chartered nonpublic or a community school, and the school district regularly transports students to that chartered nonpublic or that community school.

ORC 4511.76 (G)

A school district or the governing authority of a chartered nonpublic school or community school that uses a vehicle originally designed for not more than nine passengers, not including the driver, in accordance with Ohio Revised Code 4511.76 division (E) or (F), shall ensure that all of the following apply to the operation of that vehicle:
  1. A qualified mechanic inspects the vehicle not fewer than two times each year and determines that it is safe for pupil transportation;
  2. The driver of the vehicle does not stop on the roadway to load or unload passengers;
  3. The driver of the vehicle meets the requirements specified for a driver of a school bus or motor van under section 3327.10 of the Revised Code and any corresponding rules adopted by the department of education and workforce. Notwithstanding that section or any department rules to the contrary, the driver is not required to have a commercial driver's license but shall have a current, valid driver's license, and shall be accustomed to operating the vehicle used to transport the students;
  4. The driver and all passengers in the vehicle comply with the requirements of sections 4511.81 and 4513.263 of the Revised Code, as applicable.

ORC 4511.76 (H) (previously paragraph (F))

“Vehicle used for pupil transportation” means any vehicle that is identified as such by the department of education and workforce by rule and that is subject to Chapter 3301-83 of the Administrative Code.

Last Modified: 1/12/2024 12:45:06 PM