January 15, 1991

Ms. Carol C. Verenes
District Transportation Supervisor
Aiken County Public Schools
843 Edgefield Avenue, N.W.
P.O. Box 1137
Aiken, South Carolina 29802-1137

Dear Ms. Verenes:

This responds to your letter of September 7, 1990 requesting "written correspondence relative to the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, adopted safety standards effective April 1, 1977, which applies to vans transporting school children." Additionally, you requested "information pertaining to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards No. 220, 221, and 222" because your district is considering modifying vans to transport school children.

By telephone conversation with Mary Versailles of my staff on September 28, 1990, you stated that your school district has stopped using its 12-15 passenger vans to transport school children, because you had been informed that such use violated federal law. You requested information on what needed to be done to modify your vans to comply with Federal school bus regulations. You also asked if a dealer who had sold your school district new vans which did not comply with school bus regulations would be required to modify the vans or replace them with complying vans.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to clarify the operation of Federal law as it applies to school buses. Federal law regulates the manufacture and sale of new school buses. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines "school bus" as a motor vehicle designed for carrying 11 or more persons, including a driver, and sold for transporting students to and from school or school-related events. Note that in determining whether a vehicle is a school bus, one must consider both the vehicle's seating capacity, and its intended use. Thus, under federal law, a 12-15 passenger van is considered a school bus if its intended use is to transport school children.

NHTSA has issued Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to all new school buses. It is a violation of Federal law for any person to sell as a school bus any new vehicle that does not comply with all school bus safety standards. On the other hand, without violating any provision of Federal law, a school district may use a vehicle to transport school children, even if the vehicle does not comply with Federal school bus regulations. This is so because the individual States have authority over the use of vehicles. Therefore, to determine whether your school district may use noncomplying vans to transport school children, you must look to state law. In addition, using noncomplying vans as a school bus could result in increased liability in the event of an accident. You might want to consult your attorney and insurance company to discuss this matter.

Your first question asked what must be done to bring your vans into compliance as a school bus. Again, I must emphasize that there is no regulation under Federal law requiring your school district to retrofit your vans to comply with federal regulations. However, the following is a list of all Federal motor vehicle safety standards that include requirements for school buses:

• Standards No. 101 through 104;
• Standard No. 105 (school buses with hydraulic service brake systems);
• Standards No. 106 through 108;
• Standards No. 111 through 113;
• Standard No. 115;
• Standard No. 116 (school buses with hydraulic service brake systems);
• Standards No. 119 and 120;
• Standard No. 121 (school buses with air brake systems);
• Standard No. 124;
• Standards No. 201 through 204 (school buses with GVWR of 10,000 pound or less);
• Standard No. 205;
• Standards No. 207 through 210;
• Standard No. 212 (school buses with GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less);
• Standard No. 217;
• Standard No. 219 (school buses with GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less);
• Standard No. 220;
• Standard No. 221 (school buses with GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds);
• Standard No. 222;
• Standards No. 301 and 302.

Some of the standards which have unique requirements for school bus vehicles include, but are not necessarily limited to, Standards No. 105, 108, 111, 217, and 301; other standards (220, 221, and 222) are applicable only to school bus vehicles. Modification of the vehicles to comply with Standards No. 220 and 222 will be difficult and require recertification. The Federal motor vehicle safety standards are contained in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 571. You may find a copy of 49 CFR Part 571 at a Federal Depository Library in your State. If you so choose, you may purchase a copy of the volume of Title 49 which includes Part 571 from the United States Printing Office (GPO), Washington, D.C., 20402, (202) 783-3238.

Your second question asked whether the sale between the dealership and the school could be dissolved if you determined that any purchases of new vans did not comply with the regulations for school buses. While we have no regulations which void or "dissolve" sales of noncomplying motor vehicles, the school might be able to contact the dealership that sold the noncomplying school buses and arrange to have the vehicles repurchased. In addition, if you believe that you had been sold noncomplying vehicles, and that the dealer knew of your intended use, the school should contact NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, at the address given above, and inform them of the apparent violation of federal law. In the past, many dealers who have been notified by NHTSA of the illegality of selling noncomplying vans as school vehicles repurchased the vehicles that were sold in violation of the law. However, these instances involved essentially new vehicles. Section 154(a)(2)(A)(iii) of the Safety Act specifies the repurchase remedy as, "the purchase price of such motor vehicle in full, less a reasonable allowance for depreciation" (emphasis added). Thus, it may be more cost efficient for the school district to use these vans for other purposes within the district or transfer them to other county functions. For future vehicle purchases, it may be advisable to inform dealers specifically that the vehicles will be used for transporting school children.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you have further questions, please contact Mary Versailles of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,


Paul Jackson Rice
Chief Counsel
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