Msboa december14

Volume 44 Issue 11 • December 2014

MN School Bus Safety Expo Agenda, MSBOA Member Survey and much more!

OperatorThe

MN School Bus Safety Expo

January 16-17, 2015By Shari Danzeisen

Plans are underway for the 2015 MN School Bus Safety Expo! The 2 day conference will be held in St. Paul again at theCrowne Plaza with the trade show held at the River Centre.

One important change to take note of this year will be the trade show moving from Friday afternoon to mid-morning, Satur-day, January 17th. This will allow for our mechanic attendees to also attend the show, and the members who are unable toattend on Fridays to partake as well. This is the largest and most comprehensive trade show in Minnesota!

We have some exceptional and timely topics planned for the Expo. We will start our conference on Friday morning with theMSBOA and MAPT Board Meetings separately from 8:00-10AM. The general session will begin at 10AM with the Minneso-ta Department of Education doing a presentation on Special Education Transportation and Annual Reporting.

After lunch, our next session will focus on the new Safe and Supportive Schools Law. This law will impact bus operationsbecause transportation has the same responsibilities as schools when it comes to preventing and reporting bullying.

Next to discuss will be the legalities and best practices regarding cameras and video viewing. Who is allowed to view videofootage from the bus and when? We hope to shed some light on this ever growing issue on buses.

From 3-4PM, the MSBOA and MAPT will again separate to hold their general business meetings; MSBOA plans to have aspecial guest speaker on The Affordable Health Care Act.

Friday evening, we will be having the vendor sponsored social in the “Windows on the River” rotating rooftop lounge. Planfor an evening of food, fun, socializing and entertainment.

On Saturday morning, the mechanics seminar will begin. Each bus body vendor (Hoglund Bus & Truck, North Central, andTelin Transportation Group) will each sponsor 2 sessions from 8-9 and 9-10AM.

The general session for attendees will also begin Saturday morning with a presentation entitled “Retaining Quality Employ-ees” from 8-10AM. One of the biggest issues the school bus industry is facing is finding qualified, quality drivers and keep-ing those employees!

The trade show will start at 10:30AM at the River Centre. We will be serving lunch at the trade show. At 1:30PM the State

Patrol and Department of Public Safety will wrap up the conference with important updates to the school bus industry.

Register online at www.msboa.com

Thoughts from the Woods ....and the approaching HolidaySeason

Every year i find myself looking back a bit during the time ispend sitting and waiting for the big buck to come by mydeer stand. This year i had a little reading material alongwhich really hit home in a number of different ways. These

excerpts are from a little 3 ½ inch by 7 inch 29 page handbook called The MinnesotaSchool Bus Driver’s Handbook. Published Nov. 1969 by the Minnesota Department ofEducation Safety Division and also the Minnesota Department of Highways. i am goingto just put a few of the rules and suggestions out there for you all to thinkabout.......keep in mind publish date of Nov. 1969......

• under the Preface it said......The professional school bus driver is charged with animportant responsibility in transporting students to and from school, He (she) is theguardian of the safety of the children whose lives are entrusted to his (her) care. (noth-ing changed far as i can tell).

• under General requirements it said....a school bus drivers license examination shallbe required of every person operating any motor vehcle used in the transportation ofchildren to or from school whether it be a 12 passenger or less or a regular school bus.(No designation between Type iii or regular back then...and physicals were done year-ly on your birthday).

• i particularely liked the Vehicle inspection page.....here it is in total...... See page 5.

• (Now 50% of new drivers can not pass the pre-trip test)... yet it is all really the sameset of things to check over.

• under Tips on Handling Children comes these bits of wisdom....Show the childrenthat you love them. Look for the good qualities----all children have them....Learn thechildrens names and greet them each morning and evening......Set a good example byyour conduct, dress, and by living up to the “rules of the road”......and finally my favoriteone.....Be patient. it takes a lot of patience when there is a large group of healthy, live-ly youngsters. (now that is a fact!). (Continued on Page 5.)

2

BBOardOard OFOFddirecTOrsirecTOrs

RAYME BERNICk, DELANO

7763.972.3991/CELL [email protected]

ROBBIE ELLIOT, MOORHEAD


CONNIE GRISIM, STEWARTVILLE


DOUG GRISIM, LAkE CITY


TOM HEY, MARSHALL

507.532.4043 /CELL [email protected]

kEN INSELMANN, WILLMAR


SHELLY JONAS, ANNANDALE

320.274.8313 / CELL 612.599.0431

[email protected]

BRIAN kOCH, WACONIA


JIM kOONST, BELLE PLAINE

952.873.2362 / CELL [email protected]

STEVE LATOUR, ST. PAUL


RUDY LUNDAHL, DULUTH


MICHAEL PUTzkE, PAYNESVILLE

320.243.4455 / FAX [email protected]

GARRETT REGAN, FARIBAULT

507.334.5121/ CELL 651.470.7948

[email protected]

JOSH SCHIFFLER, CROSBY


BETHANY SCHUBERT, SAINT STEPHEN


PAUL WINTERFELDT, PERHAM

218.346.4599 / CELL 218-298-1825 [email protected]

The OperatorMISSION STAT E ME NT:

THE PURPOSE OF THE OPERATOR

IS TO PROVIDE THE MEMBERSHIP

OF THE MINNESOTA SCHOOL BUS

OPERATORS ASSOCIATION WITH

INFORMATION REGARDING

CURRENT INDUSTRY ISSUES.

THE OPERATOR IS PUBLISHED 11

TIMES A YEAR BY THE MSBOA,

10606 HEMLOCk ST. NW •

ANNANDALE, MN 55302.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL

320-274-8313.

E-Mail [email protected] or

FAX: 320-274-8027.

Website: www.msboa.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE FREE

WITH MEMBERSHIP. AdditionAl

subscriptions Are $24.00 A

yeAr. COPYRIGHT 2014

MEMBERS MAY MAkE PHOTO-

COPIES OR USE ARTICLES AS

NECESSARY PROVIDING THE

SOURCE IS CITED.

CO-EDITORS:

SHARI DANzEISEN & SHELLY

JONAS

LAYOUT & DESIGN: SHARI DANzEISEN

VIEWS PRESENTED IN THISNEWSLETTER MAY NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THEOPINIONS OF THE ENTIRE MEM-BERSHIP OR ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

PRESIDENT

RuDy LuNDAHL

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

JOSH SCHiFFLER

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

BRiAN kOCH

TREASURER

TOM HEy

From the PresidentRudy LundahlVoyageur Bus Company, Duluth, MN

Everyone by now has hopefully forgotten about the endless campaign ads that pummeledtelevision, radio, and internet communication in Minnesota during the run up to the 2014 elec-tion. Now, automobile manufacturers, fast food restaurants, and pharmaceutical companiesagain have free rein over the commercial airwaves. Transitions are also being made at theState Capitol, as Legislators re-focus from campaign mode to management mode. The 201State Legislators (134 in the State House and 67 in the State Senate) have the role of “Boardof Directors” for the State of Minnesota, as the Governor is the “Chief Executive Officer.”

in the last six years, three election cycles, the Minnesota State House has changed control from the GOP to the DFL andback each cycle. in recent non-Presidential election cycles the GOP has won control of the Minnesota State House. Spec-ulation already is being circulated that in the 2016 election cycle, a Presidential election year, the Minnesota State House islikely to swing DFL again.

Twenty six new members of the State House were elected, largely from rural and non-metro Legislative Districts. Of the 26new State House members, 21 are GOP and 5 are DFL. Eleven DFL State House Members lost their reelection bids, withthe exception of one suburban District, all DFL losses came from rural Minnesota. No incumbent GOP State House Mem-bers lost their reelection bids.

During the 2015-16 Legislative Sessions the State House will be controlled by the GOP. The direction of policy and fundingdecisions will now be suggested by a much more conservative and rural perspective than the previous DFL State Housecommittee chairpersons. As the new GOP House Leadership has now demonstrated in their committee structure and newcommittee chair appointments, there will now be less of a focus on what some are calling a “metro-centric” view of Min-nesota.

Representative Tim kelly, (GOP) Red Wing, will be the new House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee. He andhis committee will have a strong sway in the direction of transportation policy and finance, regarding an already brewingdebate between advocates for bridge repair and road funding versus advocates for increasing transit use and funding. TheState Senate’s Transportation Chair Scott Dibble, (DFL) Minneapolis will maintain his cur-rent role.

As Senator Dibble is a strong advocate for transit and Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the newState House Leadership is more inclined to support transportation funding towards roadsand bridges, a comprise or impasse transportation funding are equally likely today. Muchspeculation is already occurring as to whether or not a raise the motor fuels tax in orderto fund a backlog of roads and bridge repair projects with transit advocates equally eye-ing any funding increase to expand LRT. Some transit advocates are also proposing asales tax on motor fuels, as the price of motor fuels increases the effect of a sales taxgrows as a percentage of the price of the motor fuel.

As the State Capitol will now be controlled by a DFL Governor, a DFL State Senate, anda new GOP State House; compromise may be more commonplace and issues that cre-ate an impasse set aside. For instance, last year’s effort by ASFME and the SEiu unionsto restrict and limit local governments’ ability to utilize independent contractors may likelynot move or proceed in the newly elected GOP State House. Recently, a twin cities tele-vision station ran an “investigative” story regarding last year’s proposal to suspend an “S”endorsement for one year for leaving a student unattended after the completion of a route.The story attempted to portray these very rare instances as common place. ultimately,the story in its entirety only ran once, and was soon at the bottom of the station’s web.The story failed to attain any traction, but stated that the proposal may be revisited by theLegislature this coming year.

Continued on Page 8.

3

A Nationwide Distributor of School Bus Parts

and Safety Equipment

CAll TodAy To ordEr!Toll Free: 800-937-3906

Audio Communications“Pioneer of Two-Way Radios”

Sales • Service • Installation • SecuritySystems • Vehicle Tracking Systems

Diana Olson, Sales Consultant

[email protected] Industrial Drive Box 220

Big Lake, MN 55309

Local (763)263-3582

Toll Free (877)509-6920

Legislative UpdateBy Tom keliher, keliher Government Affairs Consulting, LLC.

Phone (612) 723-5168 • Email: [email protected]

4

Credit Card Billing Address

MSBoA

driver’s Child Check

Safety Kits

Includes 9 different Posters (one for

every month of the school year) and black

& yellow silicone wristbands for drivers to

wear as a constant reminder!

ordEr yoUrSTodAy!!!

Choose From:1 Set of 9 Different Posters & 25 Wristbands = $40.00 ________ x $40.00 =____________

Additional Wristbands in Sets of 25 = $20.00 ________ x $20.00 = ____________

____________(Subtotal) x 6.875% Tax =______________

Mail to 10606 Hemlock St. NW, Annandale, MN 55302Call with questions: 320-274-8313 or Fax to: 320-274-8027

Name on Card Payment Amount

Credit Card No. Expiration Date

Signature C.V.V. Code

Credit Card Payment

Name_____________________________________________________________

Company__________________________________________________________

Address___________________________________________________________

Phone____________________ Purchase Order # if Needed________________

Email Address for Confirmation________________________________________

Enter Quantity

Shipping Charges

are additional and will

be applied to

your total.

5

Need legal Help? It’s Just a

Phone Call Away!As a valued member of Minnesota School Bus Oper-ator's Association, you are entitled to using ThomasRevnew of Seaton, Peters & Revnew Legal Hotlinefree of charge. During each six month period, youwill be entitled to two free fifteen-minute telephonecalls to the Hotline. MSBOA encourages you to usethis free service. When using the hotline, please fol-

low the following procedure:

1. Call Tom Revnew's direct dial, which is (952) 921-4622.

2. Identify yourself, your company name and that you are a client of MSBOA.

3. If Tom Revnew is not available, please leave a voicemail with the information described above and Tom will return the call as soon as possible.

4. If Tom Revnew is not available and your call is an emergency, please dial "0" when you receive Tom's voicemail and you will be transferred to the receptionist.

From thePresident...Continued from Page 2

i guess my point is so much has changed yet in the realworld of putting the rubber on the road and doing it safelyday after day nothing has really changed. The rules andregulations around us seem to be never ending.....but thereal thing is to be safe and take care of the kids we areentrusted to move around day after day.

As the Holiday Season approaches take a little extra timeto “Thank” all your employees and your families. it gets sorushed around the Christmas season we all seem to losesight of the big picture....or maybe it is the littlepicture.....but a picture no less. Have a Happy and SafeHoliday Season from the MSBOA board and Rudy in Trop-ical Duluty.

Stay Safe and Be kind!Sincerely,Rudy Lundahl, President of MSBOA

At right: Past daily inspection checklist from1969 Driver’s Manual.

Student Discipline and BullyingBy Garrett Regan, Faribault Transportation Co., Inc., Faribault, MN

Has anyone else felt an increase in student discipline and bullying in the last couple years? The complexities of balancingthe students/drivers/parents/teachers/management are forever escalating.

in today’s world, it seems the focus quickly shifts towards how an issue was handled, rather than working together to solvea common issue. This is even more challenging when emotions run high and the safety or well being of a child is involved.

As we know, ‘bullying’ is a hot topic not only on school buses, but in classrooms, neighborhoods, and homes. Many arequick to describe a situation as bullying without including actual details of the event. With the new legislation, not only isbullying defined, but the law states the steps we are required to take if bullying is brought to our attention.

Staying knowledgeable with what bullying truly is helps prepare us on how to combat mis-behavior. School districts have been educated on this topic and are a great resource tohelp inform drivers on proper ways to define bullying, as well as proper ways to interveneand report the situations that may arise.

As we all know, it is extremely important to join forces with our respective districts on mat-ter such as this so that we can work towards the same goal of safe transportation.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to promote positive behavior on our buses. Putting the focus on howto earn a prize or positive recognition rather than how NOT to earn a citation/suspensioncan be very helpful.

We’ve implemented a ‘Golden Ticket’ policy that has been extremely successful in pro-moting positive behavior on the school bus. Students can earn a Golden Ticket by doingsomething extraordinarily well!

Have a great winter!

6

A COnTInuIng SerIeS OF BOArD COmmenTArIeS

News and Views

Save Big on New GM Vehicles through

MSBoA Benefit with GM Fleet & Commercial!!!!There is a new form for 2015! • See www.msboa.com for more information!

The MSBOA is offering a new benefit through GM Fleet & Commercial. Many of the vehicles you buy

including pick-ups, vans, and SUV’s are available at a discount for MSBOA Members. Go to www.

msboa.com for all of the information. Included is a list of all the vehicles eligible for the discount and how

much the discount is. There is also a form online on our website for you to print out and bring to your deal-

er that gives your dealer the proper fleet pricing code for our organization.

If you are planning to purchase new vehicles soon - be sure check it out and take advantage of these sav-

ings!

Looking for new training ideas for your currentdrivers? Looking to update some of your oldtraining materials for new drivers?

Look NO FuR-THER!!! in 2008,

MSBOA partnered with MAPT to create“inspecting your School Bus” DVD in HD.

Copies are available for immediate ship-ment. Please go to www.msboa.com forordering information.

7

call: 763-544-3319 Email: mobilemike@ mobileradioeng.com

tService on All Major Brands!

tWide Area & Local Dispatch Radios!

tGPS Tracking Systems!

tLeasing options available!

tFCC Licensing!

tYear 2013 narrow banding

tCamera and Video Systems!

Specializing in 2-Way RadioSales & Service Since 1948

Authorized Representives for: wKenwood wVertex wHarris

solutions & consulting!

Pre-Trip

Inspection dVd

cold Temps! By Shelly Jonas

Following last year’s cold winter, several school districts started toward working on a cold-weather policy. Several schooldistrict superintendents and transportation directors met with local meteorologists to discuss issues and processes when win-ter weather causes consideration of closing school for the day.

Many districts closed school last year because very cold weather was forecasted. Districts want to accommodate parentswho need time to work out alternate care arrangements when school is closed. Furthermore, sometimes when neighboringdistricts close there is pressure on the superintendent to close. As a result, classes were closed some days that were actu-ally warmer than days students went to school. This inconsistency was a cause of concern for parents.

The general consensus of districts participating in the meeting was that a wind chill temp of -40 F or an ambient tempera-ture of -25 F was a good threshold for closing. The St. Paul School District has issued a Winter Weather plan that calls forschool to be closed by 6:30 p.m. the preceding day when the forecast for 6 a.m. the following day is predicting temperaturesthat reach that threshold. Snow delays are separate matter and St. Paul makes the call by 5 a.m. the morning of the can-cellation.

Their full policy is available on their website. The Minnesota Department of Education does not have a model policy gov-erning this issue.

Other recommendations that came from the committee meeting:

• All decisions to stay open should include a statement that parents may choose to keep their children home if they are con-cerned about the safety of their child.

• Districts should notify the conditions which caused the closure so that the public can see the differences between schooldistricts. This could help eliminate the domino effect of neighboring district closures.

• The NOAA website is a good resource. The models they are using are quite accurate and it offers the opportunity to dif-ferentiate conditions from district to district.

ed note: information provided by Jan Vanderwall at the november transportation issues meeting

On December 5th, the State of Minnesota’s preliminary budget forecast for the upcoming budget cycle will be made public.This forecast is expected to predict a less than 5% budget surplus of maybe $400 to $600 million dollars. Enough to balancethe budget without drastic cuts or accounting shifts and gimmicks or tax increases, leading some to believe that advocategroups should not expect a lot of new money for new or expanded programs. But for now, there is a short “honeymoon” peri-od where those at the State Capitol are hopeful for comprise and agreement that does not lead to a State Government shut-down.

As the 2015-2016 Legislative Session begins on January 6th, the State Capitol will be reduced to an empty shell as recon-struction and restoration efforts have begun in earnest. Tobe blunt, there will be no rest-rooms, public parking, pub-lic meeting spaces, stair ways are restricted, elevatorshave been reduced to one, and port-o-potties will beinstalled inside the State Capitol. Public tours have allbeen eliminated, and rallies and protests will likely be heldoutdoors. With this in mind, MSBOA members should beprepared to contact their local State Legislators by mail,phone, email, or personal contact in your home Legisla-tive District. MSBOA will alert members of issues and willbe encouraging MSBOA members to contact their localLegislators as the need arises.

MSBOA is now formulating a list of issues important toschool bus operators, which will be completed by the endof December. At that time, MSBOA will lobby Legislatorsto express our concerns and promote issues of benefit toMSBOA members. We renew our request for membersuggestions regarding State Law, policies, and practicesto remove, update, alter, create, cease or conduct a Stateregulated activity that members may feel will improve theirbusiness productivity.

if members have any questions, ideas, or commentsplease feel free to contact me at [email protected] or call me at 612-723-5168.

SalesPartsService

(800) 866-3105(800) 866-3104(763) 271-2999

www.hoglundbusandtruck.com

?DID YOUKNOWKNOW

YOUDDIKNOW ? YOUKNOWKNOW ?

undlg.howw.howw mock.curtndausbund(763) 271-2

-6(800) 86-6(800) 86

evicerStsarP

alesS

999(763) 271-24013-5013-

Legislative Update Continued from Page 3.

Due to parent demand, several school districts have beenlooking at phone applications that would allow parents to seeif their school bus is running on time.

The Osseo Brooklyn Park school district is using an appcalled MyOsseobus. MyOsseobus states if a bus is runningmore than 10 minutes late. The contractor must fill out areport that a bus is running more than 10 minutes late andsubmits it to the school district including the cause of the latebus. The school district then updates the web application.Parents can access that information on an app on theirphone or by visiting the district or the school webpage.

The program has been successful and has about 1600 usersof the app. The November 10th snowstorm showed a realspike in use. There has been some ancillary benefits withthe tracking of the causes of lateness. if the school districtfinds a bus is consistently late because of traffic – maybe thebus can be re-routed. Or perhaps a driver is having consistissues with student behavior and that can be addressed.

There are some negative aspects that the district has foundas well. Some students who find that the bus is running 10minutes late, will sit inside their homes for those additional10 minutes and slow down the route even more. The webapp is not in real time either, so there can be additionaldelays or changes to the route.

The cost of the system is $6000 per year and requires athree year commitment. it is designed by a company inCanada called Box Clever. More information can be foundon their website. http://www.boxclever.ca/our-work/bus-appOr there is a tutorial on the iSD 279 webpage http://dis-trict279.org/myosseobus

The Chaska school district has decided to utilize a GPSbased notification system. The system was already part oftheir Versatrans and Zonar systems, they just required somework by their tech department to get it operational.

Continued on page 10.

school Bus Notification apps8

Affordable Care Act Checklist: is your Business Ready For 2015?By Attorneys Tom Revnew and Caitlin Gadel

As 2014 comes to a close, employers should double check their compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many newprovisions impacting employers become effective in 2015 and employers who are unprepared may face hefty monetarypenalties. Below is a checklist of some of the notable items for employers to review before 2015. 1. Cafeteria Plans• New “Change in Status” Rules and Permitted Mid-year Election Changes: The iRS recently released iRS Notice 2014-55,which expands the definition of a change in status event. Now, employers can also allow employees to make mid-year elec-tion changes to cafeteria plan elections when an employee experiences a change in status event related to, among otherthings, obtaining coverage through a state (or federal) exchange. • This is an optional change, but if employers want to implement it, they will need to update their plans documents to includea provision explicitly allowing this new change in status event.

2. “Pay vs. Play” Requirements• Large Employer: For the purposes of the “Pay vs. Play” rule, large employers have 50 or more full-time employees plusfull-time equivalent employees (FTEs). However, employers with 50-99 employees will not be assessed a “Pay vs. Play”penalty until 2016. • it is important for employers to know their size for ACA purposes. in addition to “Pay vs. Play” requirements, all largeemployers (50+ Full-time plus FTEs) will have additional iRS reporting requirements in 2015.• Compliance Date: Employers who sponsor non-calendar year plans may not have to offer affordable, minimum value cov-erage until the first day of their 2015 plan year. • There are strict requirements that employers must meet to take advantage of this delay in compliance. • Determining Full-Time Employees: Large employers will be penalized if they do not offer their full-time employees theopportunity to enroll in affordable, minimum value coverage. Full-time employees are those who average 30 or more hoursof service per week. • Employers should decide how they are going to determine who is a full-time employ-ee. Remember, the look-back measurement method is optional.• Affordable: Large employers must offer affordable coverage to their full-timeemployees in order to avoid a penalty. • Employers can calculate the affordability of their plan by using the W-2 method, Rateof Pay method, or the Federal Poverty Line method. Employers should determinewhich method works best for their business.• Minimum Value: A large employer must offer its full-time employees a plan that hasa minimum value of at least 60%. The iRS and Department of Health and Human Ser-vices issued iRS Notice 2014-69 in November, stating their intention to amend therules and regulations regarding minimum value to require employer-sponsored plansto offer coverage of hospitalization and physician services that some “skinny plans”are currently not covering. • Employers should evaluate their plans to make sure they meet minimum value andcover hospitalization and physician services, or that the plan meets an exception tothe hospitalization and physician services requirement. • Transition relief: There are a variety of different “transition relief” rules in 2015 to helpemployers ease into the “Pay vs. Play” requirements.• Employers only need to offer coverage to 70% of full-time employees (generally therequirement is 95%).

Continued on Page 11.

Legal Notes 9

hoTline Phone: (952) 921-4622

By Thomas Revnew, esq., of seaTon, PeTeRs & Revnew

Best Values:

Legal Hotline for MSBOA members

Employee Handbook & Employment Materials Package $1,075 (includes 2 hours

of attorney time – hourly rates thereafter)

Drug & Alcohol Testing Package $525 (includes 1 hour of attorney time – hourly

rates thereafter)

Ask for MSBOA discounts on Handbook ($100) and on D/A TestingPackage ($50)

Contact Tom Revnew

7300 Metro Blvd, Suite 500 | Minneapolis, MN 55439

Tel 952.921.4622 | Fax 952.896.1704 www.seatonlaw.com

10

A member contacted the MSBOA ask-ing:

We trying to find out how other opera-tors handle a situation where a parentmeets a student at the bus stop andthere are some custody issues fromestranged parents.

Most of the time, our drivers would notknow the parents by sight. On our citystops, we just do the drops and what-ever students get off, just get off. Wedo not know most of the students, weare just delivering them to a ‘location’or city bus stop. How to other opera-tions handle this?

Recommendations:

When parents meet the bus at the busstop in the morning, the driver gives aspecially-marked card to each parentfor each of their children when the kidsget on the bus. The parent keeps thecard and turns it back in to the driverwhen they meet the bus to pick uptheir child(ren) at the bus stop in theafternoon. if a different family member(grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.)needs to pick the children up at thebus stop, the parents are responsiblefor getting the card to the person pick-ing up their children. if there is no oneat the bus stop with a card for the chil-

dren, they are returned to the schooland the parent called.

if we are made aware by a parent (typ-ically the custodial parent) that there isa custody order restricting access to astudent(s) by the non-custodial parentor others, we require that notice to bepresented in writing. included in thewritten notice to the school/bus com-pany is a list of adults/individuals whoare allowed to receive the studentwhen disembarking the bus, where thechild may disembark the bus, and anyother special instructions regarding thestudent. We don’t need to know all ofthe people who can’t receive the child,we simply want to know who canreceive the child. Those individualsmust then be clearly identified to theschool and the bus company. Thattypically isn’t a problem in the age ofcell phone cameras.

On occasion we get specific instruc-tions (such as release only to one par-ent or the other)......but we also aremaking mostly corner stops and thekids get off the bus whether there is aparent to meet them or not.

Nothing is ever a perfect answer, butGENERALLy we leave custody issuesup to those involved in the case andnot place extra responsibility on the

drivers. They have enough to worryabout. That being said, we have hadsome special requests made by schooldistricts to be mindful of certain situa-tions. Those tend to be temporarybecause the only real way to preventsomething at a group bus stop is totake full responsibility for your child bydoing transportation as the parent.

i agree with this operator that most dri-vers wouldn’t know a students’ parentby sight. We’ve run into situations likethis and although we try to explain thisto the parents and request that they beat the stop, we do take an extra stepwith the driver to look out for otherswho may not be authorized to acceptthe student. We do our best to identi-fy and have the driver call in if he/shesees something suspicious. i’m surethis isn’t any huge help, but it is a diffi-cult situation that takes some extraattention to do what we can to help.

Work with your local law enforcementor your school resource officer. Typi-cally custody orders are not publicinformation, but it appears that there isa common sense application here.

The MSBOA Office contacted the Min-nesota Department of Education. Theycurrently do not have any policies inplace.

Parental Custody Issues and School Transportation

Parents can log into the system with a password provided with their registration through the schools campus information por-tal system. The phone application provides a real-time picture of where the bus is on its route. A message is also displayedthat their bus will be at their stop in X many minutes. That message is updated in real-time, so even if a bus is hung up ata series of red lights the number is constantly adjusting itself. The other stops are not listed for security purposes.

As with the Osseo Brooklyn Park School District, they have experienced some of the same student issues. Students becomereliant on the system and only leave for their stop when the app tells them to. They also have issues with spare buses if thespare is not entered into the system. When the GPS goes down, the whole app is down as well. The school district hasordered some spare GPS units to help expedite the maintenance issue. if the bus leaves its route, for example a detour, thewhole app goes down because the routing software has only have perimeter that the bus must be within.

One positive benefit that the parents have enjoyed is that many of them follow the bus route to make sure that the bus getsto the school safely.

These new technologies are constantly being refined for use as the school districts find flaws or need improvement. OsseoBrooklyn Park schools have stated that Box Clever in Canada has been great with working with them on improvements.

school Bus Notification appscontinued from page 8.

11

MSBoA drug Testing ProgramThe MSBOA has teamed up with Clinical Research Labs foryour drug testing needs as required for DOT testing. The pro-gram was designed to support the MSBOA and to help controlcosts for its members. For more information or to join the pro-gram contact: William Coens

[email protected] [email protected]

EMPloyMENT PrACTICES lIABIlITy INSUrANCEChubb insurance, one of the largest EPL carriers in the coun-try, has partnered with the MSBOA and Ahmann-Martin to pro-vide a cost effective EPLi policy option containing all the typicalprotections often found within EPL policies along with a fewother additional protections. Claims such as “wrongful dis-charge” claims, wage and hour and immigration claims are cov-ered under this policy. Additionally, Chubb and Ahmann-Martinhave agreed to share a portion of their profits with the MSBOAarising out of the sale of this product to the membership. Fur-thermore the policy will allow members to choose Seaton,Peters and Revnew as their legal counsel, if they wish, todefend against any employment-related lawsuit rather thanbeing appointed to the insurance company’s counsel who maynot have experience in the transportation industry.

JAkE OMANN, Ahmann-Martin Risk & Benefits Consulting3600 American Blvd. W. Suite 500 | Bloomington, MN 55431P: 952-358-7570 | F: 952-358-7501 | M: 612-207-3728

Trusted Employees has put together a special offer for

MSBOA Members. We will be posting the information on ourwebsite. Make sure to log in the Members Benefit section formore details.

International onCommand Account Hoglund Bus Company has provided access to anyone who isa member of the MSBOA to international’s OnCommand iCBus Service Portal. you can look up warranty information anddiagnostic support.

Contact Linda Rein at Hoglund’s: 763-271-2950.

other BenefitsAdditionally, through our partnership with Business Advantagewe are able to offer savings at Grainger, Office Max and OfficeDepot, HP as well as fuel at Holiday. All of these offers are onour website.

AC delco/Factory Motor PartsThe MSBOA has partnered with AC/Delco Factory Motor Partsto enable cost savings for you on your OEM parts.

Representatives from AC/Delco Factory Motor Parts will be incontact with your operation to see if they can help you savemoney on parts.

MsBOa Member special OffersAs part of an on-going effort to supply you with added value to your MSBOA membership, we offer the following programs:

• The penalty for not offering coverage in 2015 is: (# of full-time employees) – 80 x $2000. The monthly penalty is 1/12 ofthat. Generally, the equation is: (# of full-time employees) – 30 x $2000.• Generally, employers must offer coverage to dependents (children under 26) of full-time employees. if employers did notoffer coverage to dependents in 2013 or 2014, the employer may not be liable for a penalty just because they did not offercoverage to dependents in 2015.

3. IRS Reporting• Large Employer Reporting Requirements: Separate from the “Pay vs. Play” rule, large employers will be required to reportcertain information about their employer-sponsored coverage (such as which employees were covered and the cost of cov-erage) to the iRS beginning in 2016. • Employers should review iRS Form 1095-C, which will be used to report this information. A draft version of the form isavailable to www.irs.gov/draftforms. • Reporting Requirements for Providers of Minimum Essential Coverage: All size employers who provide minimum essentialcoverage in the form of self-insured plans (Cafeteria Plans, HRAs, FSAs) must report certain information about their employ-er sponsored coverage (such as which employees were covered) to the iRS. • Employers should review iRS Form 1095-C, which will be used to report this information. A draft version of the form isavailable to www.irs.gov/draftforms.

For more information about ACA requirements, or if you need help with any of the items on this checklist, contact ThomasR. Revnew at [email protected] or Caitlin M. Gadel at [email protected], 952-896-1700, or any of the otherSeaton, Peters & Revnew attorneys.

Legal Notes Continued from Page 9.

MS

BO

A1

06

06

He

mlo

ck

St.

NW

An

na

nd

ale

, M

N 5

53

02

From the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Legal Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Legislative Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

MsBOa PlannerSave these dates!

minnesota School Bus Safety Committee

meets 3rd Weds. of every month

Locations Vary

Contact: John Thomas 952-556-6161

Transportation Issues Study Committee

meets 4th Weds. of every month

Contact: Keith Paulson 763-506-1132

Office of Pupil Transportation Stakeholders

Quarterly meetings Held, Dates Vary

Contact: Lt. Brian reu 651-405-6047

mn School Bus Safety expo

January 16 & 17, 2015

St. Paul, mn

Northern RegionSergeant James SenenfelderNorthern Regional TrooperPhone (612) 360-5172E-mail: [email protected]

Metro RegionSergeant Paul DavisMetro / Central Regional TrooperPhone (612) 685-4820E-mail: [email protected]

Southern RegionSergeant Chad DauffenbachSouthern Regional TrooperPhone (507) 430-0791E-mail: [email protected]

MN State Patrol

ContactsListed to the right is contact infor-mation for the state troopers incharge of school bus transporta-tion.

Use this contact information!They are ready to help with anyquestions or concerns you mayhave!

in This issue:

MsBOa LeGaL HOTLiNe(952) 921-4622 • Tom Revnew at Seaton, Peters & Revnew

Msboa december14

Documents

Transcript of Msboa december14