The Florida Senate

234.0215  School Safety Transportation Plan.--Each school district and the state or local governmental entity having jurisdiction shall develop a school safety transportation plan. Each school district shall include charter schools in its school safety transportation plan. The plan shall be submitted to the Department of Education by December 31, 2000.

(1)  Each school district and the state or local governmental entity having jurisdiction shall jointly develop a priority list of hazardous-walking-conditions projects that have been identified and have not yet been corrected. Each school district shall use this part of the plan to monitor school transportation safety. The plan must include the following for the hazardous walking conditions determined under the provisions of s. 234.021:

(a)  The number of hazardous walking conditions which have been identified and have not been corrected by the state or local governmental entity having jurisdiction within 5 years after identification of the hazard and a fiscal impact of the cost to correct each hazard; and

(b)  For each hazardous walking condition that has been identified and has not been corrected, a statement of the reason given for the deficiency by the state or local governmental entity having jurisdiction.

(2)  The plan must also include recommendations and fiscal estimates for:

(a)  Any changes to current law for expanding the definition of a student in s. 234.021(1) to include students in grades kindergarten through 12.

(b)  Any changes to current law for identifying hazardous walking conditions for walkways parallel to the road, including, but not limited to:

1.  Increasing the size of the walk area adjacent to the road from 4 feet or making changes to the walk area surface;

2.  Increasing the size of the current set-off requirement for uncurbed walkways to at least 6 feet or decreasing the qualifying posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour; or

3.  Amending the current exceptions to the criteria for determining hazardous walking conditions for certain residential areas and roads that have a certain volume of traffic and a posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour or less.

(c)  Any changes to current law for identifying hazardous walking conditions for walkways perpendicular to the road, including, but not limited to:

1.  Limitations in the volume of traffic for the road or the direction of traffic; and

2.  The definition of an uncontrolled crossing site.

3.  The identification of any hazards associated with multi-lane crossings.

(d)  Any other recommendations, including, but not limited to, the consideration of additional criteria for determining hazardous walking conditions, such as crime, construction, adjacent bodies of water, or other risks, procedures for identifying hazardous walking conditions, procedures for locating bus stops, required level of auditing claims for funding, and identification of responsibilities of parents or guardians for the safety of their children when transportation is not required and is not provided by the school district or charter school.

(3)  The plan must also identify, by district, the number of schools that:

(a)  Separate the school bus loading and departure locations from the loading and departure locations for parents, guardians, or others who provide transportation to children.

(b)  Provide transportation to students for whom transportation is not currently required under state law, including data on the numbers of students and their grade levels.

The identification of schools under this subsection may be used as a basis for providing incentive funds to specific school districts in the 2000-2001 legislative session.

History.--s. 19, ch. 2000-235.