In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation to allow schools to use 12-passenger vans to transport students.

Currently, Pennsylvania only allows a maximum of a 10-passenger van for the transport of school students without a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). Federal law, and other states such as Arizona allow 12-passenger vans to safely transport students to and from school and school activities. Recently, vehicle manufacturers have been discontinuing the production of 10-passenger vans, which has resulted in schools facing challenges in effectively using vans to transport students in the Commonwealth. Schools are left with the choice of purchasing a mini-van which holds 7 passengers or purchasing a 12-passenger van and changing the seat configuration by removing seats to re-certify the van as a 10-passenger van. The increased costs and limited space associated with what schools must currently do to meet the arbitrary requirements in Pennsylvania for school van use are unnecessary, especially when we are facing a school bus driver shortage. Allowing schools the opportunity to use 12-passenger vans to transport school children would provide significant savings to school districts, provide additional opportunities for students, and help to alleviate the current school bus driver shortage.

To that end, my legislation exempts the operator of an 11 to 15 passenger van from the requirement to obtain a school bus endorsement, while also exempting the operator from the requirement to obtain a CDL. My legislation further requires that 11 to 15 passenger vans must be used to transport students to and from schools or to school-related activities. Providing these exemptions for drivers of 11 to 15 passenger vans would greatly assist student transportation to and from school and to school-related activities. As far as safety measures are concerned, these vans simply do not carry the rollover risk that has been associated with them in the past. It is my belief that this legislation will provide flexibility and cost-effective measures to both rural, urban, and suburban school districts to transport their students safely and effectively.

I hope you will consider joining me in co-sponsoring this important legislation to allow Pennsylvania schools to use 12-passenger vans to transport students.
 

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 1087: 75-1509