SB0166 Engrossed

LRB095 05332 DRH 25415 b






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    AN ACT concerning transportation.

 
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    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
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represented in the General Assembly:

 
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    Section 5. The Vehicle Code is amended  by adding Section 
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12-816 as follows:
 
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    (625 ILCS 5/12-816  new)
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    Sec. 12-816. Post-trip inspection policy for school buses.
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    (a) In order to provide for the welfare and safety of 
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children who are transported on school buses throughout the 
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State of Illinois, each school district shall have in place, by 
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January 1, 2008, a policy to ensure that the school bus driver 
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is the last person leaving the bus and that no passenger is 
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left behind or remains on the vehicle at the end of a route, a 
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work shift, or the work day.
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    (b) If a school district has a contract with a private 
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sector school bus company for the transportation of the 
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district's students, the school district shall require in the 
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contract with the private sector company that the company have 
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a post-trip inspection policy in place.



This policy and 
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procedure shall, at a minimum, require the school bus driver, 
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before leaving the bus at the end of each route, work shift, or 
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work day, to walk to the rear of the bus and check in and under 
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each seat for sleeping children.
 


 






SB0166 Engrossed
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LRB095 05332 DRH 25415 b




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    (c) Before this inspection, the school bus driver shall 
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activate the interior lights of the bus to assist the driver in 
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seeing in and under the seats during a visual sweep of the bus.
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    (d) This policy may include, at the discretion of the 
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school district, the installation of a mechanical or electronic 
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post-trip inspection reminder system which requires the school 
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bus driver to walk to the rear of the bus to deactivate the 
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system before the driver leaves the bus. The system shall 
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require that when the driver turns off the vehicle's ignition 
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system, the vehicle's interior lights must illuminate to assist 
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the driver in seeing in and under the seats during a visual 
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sweep of the bus.
 
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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.