AP 818: Student Transportation in Private Vehicles
Transportation
Background
The Superintendent encourages the use of school buses rather than privately owned vehicles to provide for internal and external transportation of students.
Some school employees, parent volunteers, or student drivers, due to circumstances, may choose to use their own automobiles within the scope of their employment, volunteer activity, or extra-curricular activity, for student transportation on occasional or infrequent trips.
Definition
a) Student Driver: shall refer to appropriately licensed students who may use their own transportation, from time-to-time.
b) Trip Driver: shall refer to any person, authorized by the Superintendent or designate, who has agreed to be a driver for certain trips, while they are driving their own or another licensed automobile. This shall include, but is not limited to: trustees, employees, teachers, parents, volunteers, and officials of the school division.
With respect to private vehicles used for transportation:
1. The Volunteer Driver Checklist and Authorization Form (F8850) shall be completed and signed by a Trip Driver, by the Principal and by the parents of the students being transported.
2. All requirements listed in the Volunteer Driving Checklist and Authorization Form and all applicable laws shall be met.
3. 15-passenger vans shall not be used for transporting students.
4. Any vehicles used for transporting students shall be properly maintained and inspected to ensure they are in safe working condition.
With respect to insurance coverage:
5. The Division cannot place primary insurance on a vehicle that it does not own, rent, or lease.
6. Insurance placed by the owner of the vehicle is always primary or first loss insurance.
7. The Division requires that anyone occasionally using their own vehicle to transport students on authorized trips provide Bodily Injury and Property Damage coverage on their vehicle to a minimum of two million dollars ($2,000,000).
8. Trip Drivers (employees or non-employees), who use their private vehicles to transport students as part of their work, or who volunteer to occasionally transport students, are required to have the appropriate driver’s license, and notify their insurance company of the intended use of the vehicle.
Expenses:
9. Travel expenses, if claimed by employees, are to be reimbursed by the Division at the current Divisional rate per kilometre, upon submission of claim.
With Respect to Student Drivers and Curricular Events:
10. Students are generally restricted from transporting self or others to curricular events.
11. Students may be permitted to drive to curricular events, with strict adherence to the following considerations:
11.1. Student Drivers, who choose to self-transport to extra-curricular events, do so under the full responsibility, and permission, of a parent or guardian;
11.1.1. For clarity: Independent Students who are Student Drivers are responsible for their own self-transportation decisions;
11.2. Student Drivers shall also acknowledge, in writing to the principal, their own responsibility for safe transport;
11.3. Student Drivers shall not transport any additional students.
With Respect to Student Drivers and Extra-Curricular Events:
12. Students may be permitted to drive to extra-curricular events, with strict adherence to the following considerations:
12.1. The intended destination for transport is an entirely optional, extra-curricular activity (i.e., a sporting event); and
12.2. The principal shall be satisfied that parents are aware of this decision.
13. Principals shall effectively and clearly communicate, on an annual basis, that students who select to drive to extra-curricular events, shall not be the responsibility of the School Division during transportation.
13.1. Principals reserve the right to determine and indicate, for any reason, that any, specific, extra-curricular activity is not sanctioned for self-transport by students.
13.2. For clarity, students who self-transport to an event that is expressly not sanctioned for students to drive, shall not be permitted to participate in the event.
