1 / 24

2015 State and National Issues

2015 State and National Issues. Presented to FAPT Mid-year Transportation Directors Meeting February 12, 2015 Ronnie H. McCallister, Director School Transportation Florida Department of Education. 2015 Legislation-- Proposed. Student Trans. Appropriations (as of 2/12/15) -

ryansaunders
Download Presentation

2015 State and National Issues

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. 2015 State and National Issues Presented to FAPT Mid-year Transportation Directors Meeting February 12, 2015 Ronnie H. McCallister, Director School Transportation Florida Department of Education

  2. 2015 Legislation--Proposed • Student Trans. Appropriations (as of 2/12/15)- • Governor’s budget rec. for 2015-16 is $443M, still within FEFP • Governor’s budget rec. for 2014-15 is $436M, still within FEFP

  3. 2015 Legislation--Proposed • SB 154, HB 41- Would require that school boards and other governmental entities identify and correct conditions that are hazardous along student walking routes to school • SB 574-Government Procurement; Defining the term “reverse auction”; requiring the Department of Management Services to maintain a program for reverse auctions; authorizing the Department of Education to use reverse auctions and other online procurement programs in assisting district school boards with transportation services contracts; authorizing the Board of Governors to adopt regulations establishing procedures governing a state university’s participation in reverse auctions and other online procurement programs, etc.

  4. 2015 Legislation--Proposed • SB 346, HB 487- Revises wording s. 316.172 to state that a person operating a vehicle passing a stopped school bus that displays a stop- arm signal on the right side commits reckless driving punishable as provided in s. 316.192. Removes references to require mandatory hearing. Adds an additional $65 mandatory fine for EMSTF; minimum fine is uniform regardless of which side you pass.

  5. FDOE Lesgislative Package • s. 1011.68, F.S., Codifies student eligibility requirements for weighted student transportation funding. • Clarifies that passenger cars and boats may be used to transport students who are isolated, homeless or in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families. • Clarifies that only students who generate FTE through the FEFP during the summer are eligible for student transportation funding.

  6. Chapter 6A-1, and 6A-3, FAC, Update: • Rule 6A-1.0451, FAC, changes were adopted (May 2014) to clarify which students transported in PV were eligible for funding • Rules 6A-3.0141, 6A-3.0151, and 6A-3.0171, FAC are scheduled for review at the April 2015, State Board Meeting

  7. School Bus Speed Limit,Rule 6A-3.0171, FAC Hi Ronnie, Per our discussion, I took a further look at the issue of whether our Rule 6A-3.0171, F.A.C., can limit the speed a school bus may go to 55 mph in light of the legislative changes to section 316.183.  Based on the legislative history, it is clear that by deleting the previously existing limit of 55 mph, and leaving only the restriction that school buses must obey the posted speed, the legislature intended that the restriction to 55 mph would no longer apply and school buses can go up to the posted speed limit.  Therefore, I think the limitation to 55 mph in our existing rule needs to be stricken.  Mari M. "Miki" Presley, Assistant General Counsel

  8. Legislation, Statutes, and Rules • www.leg.state.fl.us (Florida legislative bills and statutes) • www.flrules.org (Florida rules and statutes, especially Chapter 6A-3, FAC, and Sections 1006.21 to 1006.27, and 1012.45, F.S.) • www.regulations.gov (federal rulemaking—dockets and public comments)

  9. Fatalities in 2013-14: • Seminole, 8/30/13- Two passengers killed in PV crash with school bus • Collier, 10/31/13- PV driver killed in crash with school bus • Hillsborough, 11/8/13- Motorcyclist, killed in crash with school bus • Escambia, 4/14/14- Motorcyclist, killed in crash with school bus

  10. Fatalities in 2013-14: • St. Lucie, 4/7/14- Pedestrian student killed by car (not school bus related) • Pasco, 4/9/14- PV driver killed in crash with school bus • Duval, 4/11/14- Driver and passenger were killed in multi-vehicle crash with school bus • FSUS, 4/18/14- Bus driver killed PV crash with school bus

  11. Fatalities in 2013-14: • Escambia, 5/2/14- PV driver killed in crash with school bus

  12. Fatalities in 2014-15 (as of 2/9/15): • Lee, 8/28/14- PV driver killed in crash with school bus • Lee, 9/25/14- PV driver killed in crash with school bus • Charlotte, 10/2/14- Pedestrian student killed by PV (not school bus related) • Flagler, 1/9/15- PV driver killed in crash with school bus

  13. Crash Reporting Reminders: • Reporting threshold is $1,000, started 07-08 • DOE is continuing to require that districts reconcile district-reported numbers (DOE system) with police reports (DHSMV system) • DOE receives daily clippings from DHSMV of ALL fatal crashes in Florida??

  14. FATAL Crash Reporting • Districts should provide immediate notice of any fatal crash to FDOE as soon as practical • Report by phone call and follow up with e-mail crash report form • Helps district and FDOE answer immediate questions from administrators, media • Info is always treated as preliminary • Not meant as substitute for regular FDOE and police crash reporting

  15. Parent-Student Safety Instructions • Safety instructions must be provided annually, in writing, as required by Rule 6A-3.0121 • DOE’s “Are We There Yet?” brochure can be printed for parents and others • Available at http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7585/urlt/0085474-brochure.pdf link

  16. Charter Schools • Now 610 in Florida; 299K students, and continuing to grow (as of 2013-14 school year) • Districts must ensure charter schools are following laws and rules relating to health and safety • Currently revising Charter Schools Transportation Resource Guide • More to come tomorrow in presentation by Adam Emerson, FDOE Director, Charter Schools

  17. National Congress on School Transportation, May 17-20, 2015 • Purpose is to update the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures • Florida’s delegation: Jim Beekman, Richard Duckworth, Jay McInnis, Pat Snell, David Solomon, ?????, and Ronnie McCallister • Additional info at www.NCSTOnline.org

  18. www.FloridaSchoolBusSafety.gov

  19. SESPTC Scholarships • SESPTC- Deadline is May 31; awarding one $2,500 scholarship for 2015 college expenses of one graduating high school senior; parent or legal guardian must have been an active Florida public school transportation employee meeting income criteria (max $75K AGI) for each of the past three tax years • For more info, contact ronnie.mccallister@fldoe.org

  20. FAPT Website and ListServe • www.FAPTFlorida.org • Calendar of Events • faptgroup@faptflorida.org- Use this address if you want to send email to all FAPT General Members • faptsuppliers@faptflorida.org- for FAPT Supplier Members

  21. Resources and Links: • www.flrules.org/default.asp • www.leg.state.fl.us • www.fldoe.org/transportation • www.FAPTFlorida.org • www.NASDPTS.org • www.AmericanSchoolBusCouncil.org

  22. Questions and Comments?www.fldoe.org/transportationronnie.mcallister@fldoe.org orSchtrans@fldoe.org

More Related