Montana Code Annotated
Part 1. School Buses and Transportation
20-10-101. Definitions

20-10-101. Definitions. As used in this title, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Bus route" means a route approved by the board of trustees of a school district and by the county transportation committee.
(2) "Eligible transportee" means a public school pupil who:
(a) is 5 years of age or older and has not reached the age of 21 on or before September 10 of the current school year or who is a preschool child with a disability between the ages of 3 and 6;
(b) is a resident of the state of Montana;
(c) regardless of district and county boundaries:
(i) resides at least 3 miles, over the shortest practical route, from the nearest operating public elementary school or public high school, whichever the case may be; or
(ii) has transportation identified as a related service in an individualized education program as developed and implemented in accordance with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1400, et seq.; and
(d) is considered to reside with a parent or guardian who maintains legal residence within the boundaries of the district furnishing the transportation regardless of where the eligible transportee actually lives when attending school.
(3) "Passenger seating position" means, as defined in 49 CFR 571.222, the space on a school bus allocated for one passenger.
(4) (a) "School bus" means, except as provided in subsection (4)(b), any motor vehicle that complies with the bus standards established by the board of public education as verified by the department of justice's semiannual inspection of school buses and the superintendent of public instruction and:
(i) is owned by a district or other public agency and operated for the transportation of pupils to or from school or owned by a carrier under contract with a district or public agency to provide transportation of pupils to or from school; or
(ii) is district-owned, is designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers, has an overall safety rating of five stars from the national highway traffic safety administration at the time of purchase, and is insured in accordance with minimum coverage requirements set forth in 20-10-109.
(b) A school bus does not include a vehicle that is:
(i) privately owned and not operated for compensation under this title;
(ii) privately owned and operated for reimbursement under 20-10-142;
(iii) either district-owned or privately owned, designed to carry not more than nine passengers, and used to transport pupils to or from activity events or to transport pupils to their homes in case of illness or other emergency situations and that was purchased prior to July 1, 2017; or
(iv) an over-the-road passenger coach used only to transport pupils to activity events.
(5) "Transportation" means:
(a) a district's conveyance of a pupil by a school bus between the pupil's legal residence or an officially designated bus stop and the school designated by the trustees for the pupil's attendance; or
(b) "individual transportation" by which a district is relieved of actually conveying a pupil. Individual transportation may include paying the parent or guardian for conveying the pupil, reimbursing the parent or guardian for the pupil's board and room, or providing supervised correspondence study or supervised home study.
(6) "Transportation service area" means the geographic area of responsibility for school bus transportation for each district that operates a school bus transportation program.
History: (1), (2)En. Sec. 278, Ch. 5, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 61, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 371, L. 1975; Sec. 75-7001, R.C.M. 1947; (3)En. Sec. 279, Ch. 5, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 141, L. 1973; Sec. 75-7002, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 75-7001, 75-7002(part); amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 525, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 249, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 43, Ch. 767, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 359, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 298, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 99(4), Ch. 51, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 550, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 221, L. 2017.

Structure Montana Code Annotated

Montana Code Annotated

Title 20. Education

Chapter 10. Transportation and Food Services

Part 1. School Buses and Transportation

20-10-101. Definitions

20-10-102. School bus requirements

20-10-103. School bus driver qualifications

20-10-104. Penalty for violating law or rules

20-10-105. Determination of residence

20-10-106. Determination of mileage distances

20-10-107. Power of trustees

20-10-108. Two-way radio operation

20-10-109. Liability insurance for school bus

20-10-110. School bus purchase -- contract -- bids

20-10-111. Duties of board of public education

20-10-112. Duties of superintendent of public instruction

20-10-113. through 20-10-120 reserved

20-10-121. Duty of trustees to provide transportation -- types of transportation -- bus riding time limitation

20-10-122. Discretionary provision of transportation and payment for this transportation

20-10-123. Provision of transportation for nonpublic school children

20-10-124. Private party contract for transportation -- individual transportation contract

20-10-125. Bid letting for contract bus -- payments under transportation contract

20-10-126. Establishment of transportation service areas

20-10-127. Repealed

20-10-128. Repealed

20-10-129. Transportation for special activities

20-10-130. reserved

20-10-131. County transportation committee membership

20-10-132. Duties of county transportation committee

20-10-133. through 20-10-140 reserved

20-10-141. Schedule of maximum reimbursement by mileage rates

20-10-142. Schedule of maximum reimbursement for individual transportation

20-10-143. Budgeting for transportation and transmittal of transportation contracts

20-10-144. Computation of revenue and net tax levy requirements for district transportation fund budget

20-10-145. State transportation reimbursement

20-10-146. County transportation reimbursement

20-10-147. Bus depreciation reserve fund

20-10-148. Cost-effectiveness analysis required before purchase of small school bus