(a) On or before January 1, 2018, the department shall adopt regulations governing the specifications, installation, and use of child safety alert systems.
(b) (1) On or before the beginning of the 2018–19 school year, each schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, except as provided in paragraph (2), youth bus, and child care motor vehicle shall be equipped with an operational child safety alert system.
(2) A school pupil activity bus is not required to be equipped with an operational child safety alert system if all of the following apply:
(A) The school pupil activity bus is not used exclusively to transport pupils.
(B) When the school pupil activity bus is used to transport pupils, the pupils are accompanied by at least one adult chaperone selected by a school official. If an adult chaperone is not a school employee, the chaperone shall meet the requirements for a school volunteer established by the policies of the school district, county office of education, charter school, or private school.
(C) One adult chaperone has a list of every pupil and adult chaperone, including a school employee, who is on the school pupil activity bus at the time of departure.
(D) The driver has reviewed all safety and emergency procedures before the initial departure and the driver and adult chaperone have signed a form with the time and date acknowledging that the safety plan and procedures were reviewed.
(E) Immediately before departure from any location, the adult chaperone shall account for each pupil on the list of pupils, verify the number of pupils to the driver, and sign a form indicating that all pupils are present or accounted for.
(F) After pupils have exited a school pupil activity bus, and before driving away, the driver shall check all areas of the bus, including, but not limited to, overhead compartments and bathrooms, to ensure that the bus is vacant.
(G) The driver shall sign a form with the time and date verifying that all required procedures have been followed.
(H) The information required to be recorded pursuant to subparagraphs (D), (E), and (G) may be recorded on a single form. These forms shall be retained by the school district, county office of education, charter school, or private school for a minimum of two years.
(c) A “child safety alert system” is a device located at the interior rear of a vehicle that requires the driver to either manually contact or scan the device before exiting the vehicle, thereby prompting the driver to inspect the entirety of the interior of the vehicle before exiting.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Child care motor vehicle” means a vehicle designed, used, or maintained for more than eight persons, including the driver, that is used by a child care provider to transport children.
(2) “Child care provider” has the same meaning as provided for “day care center” in Section 1596.76 of the Health and Safety Code.
(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 721, Sec. 7. (SB 1072) Effective January 1, 2017.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018