(1) All publicly owned or leased school buses, including buses owned or leased by a public school district, must be inspected annually in compliance with the State Department of Education's annual school bus inspection program. The State Department of Education shall assist in this requirement by providing the training and certification of a limited number of personnel designated by a school district to perform the inspection, providing the inspection manuals and forms, and supplying the inspection certificate stickers for the school buses. The State Department of Education's assistance must be free of charge.
(2) All privately owned vehicles designed and used to transport ten or more preprimary, primary, or secondary students to or from school, school-related activities, or childcare must be inspected annually. Inspections for these privately owned vehicles must comply with applicable federal inspection requirements. A copy of the vehicle inspection report must be kept on these vehicles at all times.
(3) The owner or lessee of a school bus shall be solely responsible for the implementation and accountability of school bus inspections.
(B) All school buses are subject to inspection at any time or place by officers of the State Transport Police or inspection forces. A school bus may not continue in operation in the transportation of students when the annual inspection is more than twelve months old or the school bus is found to be unsafe after any inspection until the unsafe conditions disclosed by the inspection have been corrected.