Each applicant with a temporary permit and each licensee shall
ensure that the requirements of this regulation are met when the facility,
residential center, or group boarding home arranges for or provides
transportation for children in care.
(a) Each driver shall be at least 18 years of
age.
(b) Each driver shall hold a
valid driver's license that meets the requirements of the Kansas motor vehicle
drivers' license act,
K.S.A.
8-234a et seq. and amendments
thereto.
(c) Each driver shall be
informed of the requirements of this regulation.
(d) Each transporting vehicle shall be
maintained in safe operating condition.
(e) Each transporting vehicle owned or leased
by the facility, residential center, or group boarding home shall have an
annual mechanical safety check. The safety check shall be documented on a form
provided by the department. A record of the date of the safety check and
corrections made shall be kept on file at the facility, residential center, or
group boarding home.
(f) Trailers,
camper shells, or truck beds shall not be used for transportation of
children.
(g) Fifteen-passenger
vans shall not be used to transport children. Any 15-passenger van purchased or
leased before December 31, 2023, shall be exempt from this
requirement.
(h) Each vehicle shall
be covered by accident and liability insurance in an amount of not less than
$100,000 for personal injury or death in any one accident, $300,000 for injury
or death to two or more persons in any one accident; and $50,000 for loss to
property of others.
(i) Emergency
release forms and health assessment records shall be in the vehicle when
children enrolled in residential centers or group boarding homes are
transported more than 60 miles from the residential center or group boarding
home, or if children are in emergency medical care.
(j) Each transporting vehicle owned or leased
by the
facility,
residential center, or
group boarding home shall have a
first-aid
kit that meets the requirements in
K.A.R.
28-4-128.
(k) The following requirements regarding the
use of seat belts and
child safety seats shall apply:
(1) Each individual shall be secured by the
use of a seat belt or a child safety seat when the vehicle is in
motion.
(2) No more than one
individual shall be secured in any seat belt or child safety seat.
(3) Each seat belt shall be properly anchored
to the vehicle.
(4) When a
child
safety seat, including a booster seat, is required, the seat shall meet the
following requirements:
(A) Has current
federal approval;
(B) has a label
with the date of manufacture, date of expiration, and model number;
(C) according to the label, is not past the
expiration date;
(D) has not been
recalled;
(E) has no missing parts
or cracks in the frame;
(F) has not
been in a crash;
(G) is installed
according to the manufacturer's instructions and vehicle owner's
manual;
(H) is appropriate to the
height, weight, and physical condition of the child, according to the
manufacturer's instructions and state statutes and regulations; and
(I) is properly maintained.
(5) The manufacturer's
instructions for use shall be kept on file at the facility, residential center,
or group boarding home.
(l) For each child younger than five years of
age after August 31 of the current school year, each facility, residential
center, or group boarding home shall utilize an age and size-appropriate child
safety restraining system when transporting a child in a school bus or a bus
operated by a common carrier.
(m)
The safety of each
child riding in each vehicle shall be protected as follows:
(1) All doors shall be locked while the
vehicle is in motion.
(2)
Discipline shall be maintained at all times.
(3) All parts of each child's body shall
remain inside the vehicle at all times.
(4) No child shall either enter or exit the
vehicle into a lane of traffic.
(5)
No child shall be left in a vehicle unattended by an adult.
(6) When the vehicle is vacated, the driver
shall make certain no child is left in the vehicle.
(7) Tobacco product use in the vehicle shall
be prohibited while children are being transported.
(8) No cell phone or other electronic device
shall be used by the driver when the vehicle is in motion. If a cell phone or
electronic device is used for navigation, it shall be in hands-free mode
only.
(9) Each facility shall
maintain applicable staff-child ratios in the vehicle when children are being
transported.
(10) Residential
centers and group boarding homes shall maintain applicable staff-child ratios
when children under six are being transported.
(n) A copy of the requirements in subsection
(m) shall be posted in each vehicle or given to each driver.
(o) Each child shall be transported directly
to the location designated by the applicant with a temporary permit or the
licensee. No unauthorized stops shall be made along the way, except in an
emergency.