An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 16 – Off Campus Activities

2. S CHOOL P UPIL A CTIVITY B USES School Pupil Activity Buses (SPABs) are operated by common carrier, a publicly owned or operated transit system, or by a passenger charter carrier. SPABs are used under a contractual agreement to transport students at or below the twelfth grade level to or from a private school activity. They are also used to transport students to or from residential schools, when students are received and discharged at off-highway locations with a parent, or adult designated by the parent, present to place and/or pick up the student. 2205 SPAB drivers are subject to the regulations adopted by the Department of California Highway Patrol governing school bus drivers. 2206 The regulations may not require SPAB drivers to take training in first aid. 2207 A driver with a valid certificate to drive a SPAB is not entitled to drive a School Bus. 2208 When operating a SPAB, a driver must have a valid driver’s license for the operation of the vehicle and a certificate to permit the operation of the SPAB in his or her immediate possession. 2209 3. Y OUTH B USES A Youth Bus is designed for and not meant to carry more than sixteen (16) individuals and the driver. 2210 A Youth Bus transports students at or below the twelfth grade level between a public or private school and an organized non-school related youth activity within twenty-five miles of the private school. 2211 Youth Buses may also be allowed to transport students to and from their homes if the driver has met the necessary requirements of the Vehicle Code and obtained the additional training approved by the Department of the California Highway Patrol. 2212 A driver of a Youth Bus must have a commercial driver’s license if the vehicle is designed to transport 11 or more passengers, including the driver. 2213 A Youth Bus is also a school bus if it is designed to transport 11 or more passengers. 2214 4. 15-P ASSENGER V ANS Private schools that own, lease, or otherwise have possession and control of a fifteen-passenger van may not operate it unless the driver has a Class B license, and an endorsement to operate a passenger transportation vehicle issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. 2215 To qualify for this endorsement the individual must pass examinations and meet the additional minimum standards. 2216 A 15-passenger van is also a school bus since it is designed to transport 11 or more passengers. 2217 In addition, since a 15-passsenger van is designed to transport 11 or more passengers, including the driver, the driver must have a commercial driver’s license. 2218 A fifteen-passenger van includes any van designed to accommodate fifteen passengers including the driver, regardless of whether the van has been altered to accommodate fewer than fifteen passengers. 2219 Thus removing seats from a van does not change the requirements for a 15- passenger van. LCW Practice Advisor Some insurance policies will not cover 15-passenger vans because they are considered too unsafe. Be sure your insurance covers this type of vehicle before using it.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 539