H1043 - 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act. (SL 2020-4)

Overview: S.L. 2020-4, Sec. 4.16, as enacted by S.L. 2020-97, Sec. 1.3, directs the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to establish the Smart School Bus Safety Pilot Program (Program) by November 23, 2020, and ending it on or before January 1, 2024. The Program is to improve the transportation of public school students through technology in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund must be expended by December 30, 2020.

Minimum Technology and Services – Local school administrative units (LEAs) must identify and contract with qualifying vendors to provide technology and services for school buses. Authorized LEAs can elect not to participate in the Program. Qualifying vendors must provide technology and services for school buses in participating LEAs with the LEAs having discretion over the specific technology and services provided as long as the following minimum requirements are met:

• Improve overall communications and reporting on school buses.
• Include automated school bus safety cameras and on-board integration with those cameras.
• Enable employee time tracking, student ridership tracking, and contact tracing in the event of a COVID-19 infection.
• Enable global positioning system tracking of school buses.
• Enable turn by turn navigation along bus routes.
• Optimize time, expenditure, and safety of bus routes.
• Provide pre- and post-trip vehicle inspections that may be transmitted to DPI on a regular basis.
• Communicate ridership information to the student information management system.
• Permit parents or legal guardians to access applicable information.
• Conform to applicable guidance provided by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for the transportation of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Include implementation and project management assistance, training, radio frequency identification technology, and check-in and check-out security stickers or other badges for students.

LEA Requirements – The following requirements and contingencies apply to each participating LEA:

• Every school bus designed for the transportation of children with disabilities must be outfitted with technology provided pursuant to the Program as long as the technology is appropriate for children with disabilities and can be provided in a cost-effective manner.
• At the conclusion of the Program, all hardware provided to an LEA becomes the property of that LEA.

Reports – No later than November 1 and March 1 of each year the Program is in effect, DPI, in consultation with each participating LEA, must report at least all the following information to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, any committee constituted by the House of Representatives or Senate to address school safety, and the Fiscal Research Division:

• An itemized breakdown of software infrastructure, hardware infrastructure, and equipment provided by qualifying vendors to participating LEAs pursuant to the Program.
• A description of all services provided by qualifying vendors to participating LEAs pursuant to the Program.
• A list of qualifying vendors contracting with participating LEAs pursuant to the Program.
• The impact and effectiveness of the Program.
• All expenditures of State funds pursuant to the Program.

This section became effective September 4, 2020.