6.3 TRANSPORTATION
Transportation Arranged by Parishes and Schools
Transportation arranged by locations for their own purposes and activities may include personal motor vehicles, on-demand transportation services, vans, buses, boats, or airplanes.
Personal Motor Vehicles
Although discouraged, school and parish staff, and volunteers (including teachers, religious education instructors, and coaches) may use their personal motor vehicle to drive two or more minors to and from athletic, youth, and other trips or events. School and parish staff and volunteers may not be alone in a vehicle with a single minor who is not their own child.
School and parish staff, parents/guardians, and volunteers who drive minors in their own vehicles must be at least 25 years old, have a clean driving record for the past three years, possess a valid California Class C driver license, and have current and valid California automobile insurance. The location must keep on file a copy of that driver license and proof of current insurance.
All chaperones or drivers who have contact with minors must follow archdiocesan safe environment policies, including VIRTUS (Protecting God’s Children or Keeping the Promise Alives sessions), fingerprinting requirements and background checks.
Use of personal vehicles for travel to foreign countries is discouraged. Commercial auto insurance available in the United States does not generally include coverage in foreign countries; therefore, before beginning a foreign trip, locations using personal vehicles for international travel must check with a commercial automobile insurance agent to obtain appropriate coverage for the country or countries where the vehicles will be used.
Archdiocesan-owned vehicles may not be driven outside the State of California, because archdiocesan vehicle insurance does not include out-of-state travel.
On-Demand Transportation Services
The archdiocese discourages the use of on-demand transportation services by minors.
Parents/guardians who wish to use an on-demand transportation service to transport their child(ren) are solely responsible for determining if the service allows its drivers to transport unaccompanied minors. Note that, for example, neither Uber nor Lyft permits drivers to pick up children under the age of 18 unless accompanied by an adult account holder.
If the location restricts the release of minors from its custody only to certain authorized individuals, parents/guardians must sign the Minor Pickup Permission Form and Release for Parishes and Schools, giving permission for their child(ren) to be picked up by a transportation service and absolving the location and the archdiocese of any liability. These forms must be kept on file by the location. Licensed day care centers and preschools are required to maintain these documents by state regulation.
Parents/guardians who have submitted a signed permission form must call the location each day of pickup and inform the location that the transportation service is picking up the child(ren). If possible, the parents/guardians must give the name of the driver who will be picking up the child(ren).
At time of release, the transportation service driver must identify himself or herself to the person in charge, showing a valid driver license and proof of his or her relationship to the transportation service. The driver must sign the child(ren) out. Drivers must be instructed by the parents/guardians that transportation service drivers may not pick up students in the car line of the location.
The child(ren) are then released to the driver.
Vans
Schools and parishes may transport school students in vans or other vehicles designed for 10 passengers or fewer, including the driver. Vehicles designed for more than 10 passengers may not be reconfigured to seat only 10 passengers, including the driver.
A driver of a vehicle designed for 10 passengers or fewer does not need a commercial driver license.
Youth Buses
Schools and parishes may use vehicles designed for 15 persons or fewer to transport school students within 25 miles of the school or parish. Individuals who drive these vehicles must have a commercial driver license with a youth bus certificate. Every youth bus must have on the front and rear a plainly visible sign with the words "YOUTH BUS" in letters at least eight inches high.
A school may not use a youth bus without the consent of the Department of Catholic Schools.
School Pupil Activities Bus
A school pupil activities bus (SPAB) is any motor vehicle other than a school bus that is operated by a common carrier for the purpose of transporting K–12 school students to or from a school activity. SPAB drivers are subject to the school bus regulations promulgated by the California Highway Patrol, except that SPAB drivers do not have to take first aid courses and are not allowed to drive school buses.
School Buses
Locations should make sure that drivers of school buses that are transporting K–12 school students inside the State of California have the appropriate driving certificate, which must be a SPAB driver’s certificate or a school bus driver’s certificate issued by the California Highway Patrol.
Commercial Buses and Other Commercial Vehicles
Locations may only hire buses, vans, or other passenger carriers from transportation companies that have valid permits, licenses, or charters approved by the State of California and that maintain current insurance on their vehicles. Locations must verify this information through the California Public Utilities Commission and its list of passenger carriers.
Prior to signing any contracts with bus companies or other transportation vendors, locations must submit the contracts to the archdiocesan Office of the Legal Counsel for review.
Minors Leaving On Their Own
Parents/guardians may grant permission for their children to leave school, the parish, or another location, or a location-sponsored event on their own. Persons in charge of the location must obtain from the parents/guardians a written, signed, and dated Permission to Walk/Bike/Drive from Location and Location's Sponsored Events form and file it with other permissions and waivers.
