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*sb0292*
SENATE BILL 292
F1, R2 (6lr2559)
ENROLLED BILL
— Education, Energy, and the Environment/Ways and Means —
Introduced by Senator Bailey
Read and Examined by Proofreaders:
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
Sealed with the Great Seal and presented to the Governor, for his approval this
_______ day of _______________ at __ ______________________ o’clock, ________M.
______________________________________________
President.
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
County Boards of Education – Student Transportation – Sunset Repeal and 2
Study 3
FOR the purpose of repealing the termination date of certain provisions of law that 4
authorize a county board of education to provide transportation to and from school 5
for certain students using a vehicle other than a certain type of school vehicle under 6
certain circumstances; authorizing a county board to contract with a certain 7
transportation network company if the transportation network operator meets 8
certain requirements; requiring the State Department of Education, in consultation 9
with county boards and the Motor Vehicle Administration, to study the current 10
regulations for vehicles other than a certain type of school vehicle; and generally 11
relating to vehicles for student transportation and county boards of education. 12
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
Chapter 197 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2021 14
2 SENATE BILL 292
Section 3 1
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 2
Chapter 198 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2021 3
Section 3 4
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 5
Article – Education 6
Section 7–801 7
Annotated Code of Maryland 8
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 9
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 10
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 11
Chapter 197 of the Acts of 2021 12
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 13
1, 2021. [It shall remain effective for a period of 5 years and, at the end of June 30, 2026, 14
this Act, with no further action required by the General Assembly, shall be abrogated and 15
of no further force and effect.] 16
Chapter 198 of the Acts of 2021 17
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 18
1, 2021. [It shall remain effective for a period of 5 years and, at the end of June 30, 2026, 19
this Act, with no further action required by the General Assembly, shall be abrogated and 20
of no further force and effect.] 21
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland read 22
as follows: 23
Article – Education 24
7–801. 25
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 26
(2) (i) “Nonpublic school” means an elementary or secondary school in 27
the State that is not part of the public elementary and secondary education system of this 28
State. 29
(ii) “Nonpublic school” includes an elementary or secondary school 30
in Calvert County that does not receive State aid. 31
SENATE BILL 292 3
(3) “Public school bus” includes any other conveyance used to transport 1
students to a public school. 2
(b) (1) At its own expense, a county governing body may provide 3
transportation for public school students in addition to the transportation provided by the 4
State. 5
(2) In Montgomery County, a fee may not be charged for transporting 6
public school students to school from their designated bus stop locations or from school to 7
their designated bus stop locations. 8
(c) (1) A county board may provide transportation to and from school using a 9
vehicle other than a Type I or Type II school vehicle, as defined in § 11 –154 of the 10
Transportation Article, when a school vehicle cannot reasonably be provided for the 11
following public school students: 12
(i) Preschool–age students; 13
(ii) Students with disabilities; 14
(iii) Homeless youth; 15
(iv) Children in foster care; 16
(v) Students without access to school buses; 17
(vi) Students in a nonpublic school placement; or 18
(vii) Students in dual enrollment programs, work programs, or other 19
educational programs based off the school campus. 20
(2) A county board may pro vide transportation in accordance with this 21
subsection to a particular student group that is not listed under paragraph (1) of this 22
subsection through a written determination by the county board. 23
(3) [The] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (4) OF THIS 24
SUBSECTION, THE Department, in consultation with county boards and the Motor Vehicle 25
Administration, shall adopt regulations establishing minimum vehicle and driver safety 26
standards for transportation provided in accordance with this subsection. 27
(4) A COUNTY BOARD MAY CON TRACT WITH A TRANSPO RTATION 28
NETWORK COMPANY THAT DOES NOT MEET THE STANDARDS ESTABLISHED BY THE 29
DEPARTMENT UNDER PARA GRAPH (3) OF THIS SUBSECTION , TO TRANSPORT NOT 30
MORE THAN TWO STUDENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY, IF THE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK 31
OPERATOR: 32
4 SENATE BILL 292
(I) MEETS THE STANDARDS E STABLISHED BY THE PUBLIC 1
SERVICE COMMISSION FOR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY OPERATORS; 2
(II) SUBMITS TO: 3
1. A BACKGROUND CHECK UND ER § 6–113.1 OF THIS 4
ARTICLE; AND 5
2. A FINGERPRINT–BASED STATE AND NATIONAL 6
CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS CHECK; 7
(III) USES A VEHICLE DESIGN ED TO SEAT NOT MORE THAN 10 8
INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING THE DRIVER; AND 9
(IV) MEETS ANY OTHER REQUI REMENTS ESTABLISHED BY THE 10
COUNTY BOARD CONTRACTING WITH THE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY. 11
(d) (1) Subject to the requirements of paragraph (2) of this subsection, in 12
Calvert County the county board may provide transportation to and from school on a public 13
school bus for a student who attends a nonpublic school. 14
(2) Transportation offered by the Calvert County Board under this section 15
shall be offered to a student attending a nonpublic school: 16
(i) If there is sufficient capacity on the school bus; 17
(ii) If the student resides on, along, or near a public highway in the 18
county on which a public school bus or conveyance operates; 19
(iii) If the student resides in the public school transportation district 20
served by the public school bus; 21
(iv) Only on the routes, school days, and hours of transportation that 22
coincide with the routes, school days, and hours of transportation for students attending 23
public schools in the county; and 24
(v) In the case of a student who attends a nonpublic school that is 25
not on the public school bus route, only to the public school on the route which is nearest to 26
the nonpublic school. 27
(3) The Calvert County Board is not responsible for the safety of any 28
nonpublic school student who is transported on a public school bus under this subsection 29
after the student is discharged from the public school bus, and the board may not be held 30
liable in any civil action arising from an act or omission that occurs after the student is 31
discharged from the public school bus. 32
SENATE BILL 292 5
SECTION 3. 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That: 1
(a) The State Department of Education, in consultation with county boards of 2
education and the Motor Vehicle Administration, shall review the regulations adopted 3
under § 7–801(c) of the Education Article, as enacted by Chapters 197 and 198 of the Acts 4
of the General Assembly of 2021, authorizing vehicles other than Type I and Type II school 5
vehicles to transport public school students. 6
(b) In reviewing the regulations, the Department shall examine: 7
(1) the requirements for vehicles other than Type I and Type II school 8
vehicles, including whether they arbitrarily distinguish between different operators of a 9
vehicle, different types of vehicles, and the number of passengers transported; 10
(2) the requirements for the drivers of vehicles other than Type I and Type 11
II school vehicles, including whether they adequately ensure drivers are prepared for 12
transporting public school students; and 13
(3) the regulations adopted by the Public Service Commission for 14
transportation network operators and whether the regulations adopted by the Department 15
can be brought into alignment with those regulations without sacrificing student safety. 16
(c) On or before January 1, 2027, the State Department of Education shall report 17
on the results of its review to the Senate Edu cation, Energy, and the Environment 18
Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the 19
State Government Article. 20
SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That: 21
(a) If the State Department of Education adopts regulations r egarding student 22
transportation after the review of the regulations adopted under § 7–801(c) of the Education 23
Article, as enacted by Chapters 197 and 198 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2021, 24
authorizing vehicles other than Type I and Type II school vehicles to transport public school 25
students, Section 2 of this Act shall be abrogated and of no further force and effect. 26
(b) The State Department of Education shall notify the Department of Legislative 27
Services within 5 days after the effective date of the regulations adopted in accordance with 28
subsection (a) of this section. 29
SECTION 2. 5. 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 30
June 1, 2026. 31