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
Chapter 10. Transportation and Food Services
Part 1. School Buses and Transportation
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
20-10-108. 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
20-10-122. 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
20-10-129. Transportation for special activities
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
20-10-145. 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