Jackson School Board updates student transportation policy

Following the state's lead, the Jackson School Board on Tuesday updated its policy on student transportation in private vehicles and common carriers.

The changes, stemming from revisions to state law, outline requirements for transportation of students in vehicles designed for transporting more than 10 passengers, including the driver, and vehicles designed to carry 10 passengers or fewer, including the driver.

"If it's going to transfer more than 10 students, then it has to meet state and federal requirements that apply to school buses," said Beth Emmendorfer, the Jackson School District's associate superintendent of student services.

The policy mandates limiting the number of passengers to the manufacturer-suggested capacity, or if not posted in the vehicle, then limited to the number of seat belts in the vehicle. It also states the driver and each passenger "shall be properly secured with the appropriate seat restraint," according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.

The policy revisions, officials say, aim to address safety concerns surrounding 15-passenger vans over the years.

In October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration again urged users of the vehicles to take steps to keep occupants safe, following two fatal crashes involving 15-passenger vans that rolled over and resulted in 10 deaths.

Research has shown that heavily loaded 15-­passenger vans have a higher rate of rollover than lightly loaded vans, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. "Loading 15-­passenger vans to gross vehicle weight also moves the center of gravity rearward and upward, thereby affecting the stability and handling of the van," an NTSB report said.

But the safety board noted a downward trend in 15-passenger van crashes in 2006, reaching the lowest level since 1992. Still, about half of the fatalities occurred in heavily loaded -- 10 or more occupants -- vans that rolled over, the NTSB report found, and about 59 percent of the fatally injured in rollovers were not restrained.

The revised policy, Emmendorfer said, mandates vehicles transferring fewer than 10 passengers must have a representative number of seat belts.

Jackson School Board members unanimously approved the changes to the policy, as well as revisions to a policy outlining procedures for the sale of surplus school property.

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