Sec. 14-276. School bus operators to hold a valid passenger and school endorsement. Duties of carrier re withdrawal, suspension or revocation of employee's operator's license or endorsement to
Sec. 14-276. School bus operators to hold a valid passenger and school endorsement. Duties of carrier re withdrawal, suspension or revocation of employee's
operator's license or endorsement to operate a school bus or student transportation
vehicle. Civil penalties. (a) Registered school buses while transporting school children
shall be operated by holders of a valid passenger and school endorsement issued in
accordance with section 14-44. Such endorsement shall be held in addition to the commercial driver's license required for the operation of such motor vehicles. A person
who has attained the age of seventy shall be allowed to hold a passenger and school
endorsement for the purpose of operating a school bus, provided such person meets the
minimum physical requirements set by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and agrees
to submit to a physical examination at least twice a year or when requested to do so by
the superintendent of the school system in which such person intends to operate a school
bus. Any person to whom a town has awarded a contract for the transportation of school
children who permits the operation of a registered school bus while transporting school
children by any person who does not hold a passenger and school endorsement shall be
fined not less than two thousand five hundred dollars or more than five thousand dollars.
(b) Not less than twice per month, a carrier shall review the report made by the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (h)
of section 14-44, with reference to the name and motor vehicle operator's license number
of each person such carrier employs to operate a school bus, as defined in section 14-275, or a student transportation vehicle, as defined in section 14-212. If, according to
such report, any such employee's motor vehicle operator's license or endorsement to
operate a school bus or student transportation vehicle has been withdrawn, suspended
or revoked, such carrier shall prohibit such employee from operating a school bus or
student transportation vehicle.
(c) Any carrier who fails to review the report made by the commissioner, pursuant
to subsection (b) of this section, shall be subject to a civil penalty of one thousand
dollars for the first violation, and two thousand five hundred dollars for each subsequent
violation. Any carrier who fails to remove as an operator, pursuant to subsection (b) of
this section, not later than ten days after reviewing such report, any employee whose
motor vehicle operator's license or endorsement to operate a school bus or student transportation vehicle has been withdrawn, suspended or revoked, shall be subject to a civil
penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars for the first violation, and five thousand
dollars for each subsequent violation. Upon appropriate justification presented to the
commissioner by any carrier, the commissioner may make a determination to reduce
any such penalty.
(1955, S. 1320d; 1967, P.A. 859; 1969, P.A. 110, S. 2; 1972, P.A. 127, S. 21; P.A. 81-256, S. 1; S.A. 81-57, S. 4, 5;
P.A. 82-223, S. 21; P.A. 83-340, S. 1, 4; 83-577, S. 26; P.A. 90-263, S. 29, 74; P.A. 93-341, S. 27, 38; P.A. 94-189, S. 19,
34; P.A. 06-130, S. 11; P.A. 07-217, S. 53; 07-224, S. 3.)
History: 1967 act prohibited persons 70 or older from holding license to operate school bus; 1969 act required minimum
age of 19 for holding license to operate school bus; 1972 act deleted minimum age requirement; P.A. 81-256 removed
provision which had made board of education members subject to fine for permitting unlicensed person to transport children
and added Subsec. (b) requiring commissioner to furnish names of those whose licenses are suspended or revoked upon
request; S.A. 81-57 revised effective date of P.A. 81-256 but did not change October 1, 1981, effective date of amendments
to this section; P.A. 82-223 amended Subsec. (a) by lowering the maximum fine from $100 to $90 and added Subsec. (c)
to specify that violation of the section is an infraction; P.A. 83-340 amended Subsec. (a) to allow a person age 70 or older
to operate a school bus provided he meets physical requirements set by the commissioner and agrees to take a physical
examination at least twice a year, where previously operation of bus by person 70 or older was prohibited; P.A. 83-577
amended Subsec. (a) by increasing the minimum fine from $25 to $35; P.A. 90-263 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to
substitute public passenger transportation permits for public service operators' licenses and to insert commercial driver's
license in lieu of regular operator's license in Subsec. (a); P.A. 93-341 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to replace references
to public passenger transportation permits with references to passenger and school endorsements, effective July 1, 1994;
P.A. 94-189 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 06-130 deleted former Subsec. (b) which
had required commissioner to furnish names of those whose passenger and school endorsements are suspended or revoked
and redesignated existing Subsec. (c) as new Subsec. (b); P.A. 07-217 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective
July 12, 2007; P.A. 07-224 amended Subsec. (a) by increasing minimum fine from $35 to $2,500 and maximum fine from
$90 to $5,000, deleted former Subsec. (b) re infraction and added new Subsecs. (b) re review of report by carrier and
prohibiting employees whose operator's license or school bus or student transportation vehicle endorsement has been
withdrawn, suspended or revoked from operating such vehicles and (c) re civil penalties for failure to review report or
remove employee as operator of a school bus or student transportation vehicle, effective July 1, 2007.
See Sec. 14-44 re commissioner's authority to furnish names and license numbers of operators with withdrawn, suspended or revoked licenses or endorsements.
See Sec. 14-107 re liability of owner, operator or lessee of vehicle.