1. (a) The following standards have been established by the department as minimum requirements to be met by each person seeking to become employed or to remain employed as a school bus driver to drive any motor vehicle while in use as a school bus for the transportation of students:

   1. (1) the driver's license record of each school bus driver shall be evaluated at least annually by the employer or designated person. "Complete" driver history may be requested from the department for school bus drivers by the employer. Penalty points shall be assessed for those entries which appear in the accompanying tables of traffic law violations and accident involvements according to the School Bus Driver's Driving Record Evaluation, Figure 3: §14.1(3) of this title (relating to Appendix). Any person who has accumulated ten or more penalty points shall be considered ineligible to transport students until such time as he/she may become qualified; and
   2. (2) an applicant for employment as a commercial motor vehicle driver must disclose to the employer any violations of motor vehicle laws or ordinances (other than violations involving only parking) of which the applicant was convicted or forfeited bond or collateral during the three years preceding the date the application is submitted and any serious traffic violations of which the applicant was convicted during the ten years preceding the date the application is submitted, as well as any suspension, revocation, or cancellation of any driving privilege that resulted from the conviction. For verification purposes, it is strongly recommended that driving records be secured for all new applicants that have held an out-of-state driver's license within the past seven years. These records should include all convictions which would result in mandatory suspension of a driver's license in Texas according to Table IV and Table V of Figure 3: §14.1(3) of this title (relating to Appendix).

2. (b) In determining a person's eligibility to drive a school bus, the following standards shall apply in assessing penalty points for convictions of traffic law violations and accident involvements appearing on his/her current driving record:

   1. (1) convictions for violations included in Table I, Figure 3: §14.1(3) of this title, shall be assessed one penalty point for each occurrence if the date of the violation is within three years of the date of the driving record evaluation;
   2. (2) accident involvements included in Table II, Figure 3: §14.1(3) of this title, shall be assessed two penalty points if the date of occurrence is within three years of the date of the driving record evaluation. Persons disqualified because of penalty points assessed for accident involvement shall be notified of their right to a review;
   3. (3) convictions for violations included in Table III, Figure 3: §14.1(3) of this title, shall be assessed three penalty points for each occurrence if the date of the violation is within three years of the date of the driving record evaluation;
   4. (4) convictions for violations included in Table IV, Figure 3: §14.1(3) of this title, shall be assessed ten penalty points for each occurrence if the date of the violation is within seven years of the date of the driving record evaluation; and
   5. (5) convictions for violations included in Table V, Figure 3: §14.1(3) of this title, shall be assessed ten penalty points for each occurrence if the date of the violation occurred on or after October 7, 1996 and is within five years of the date of the driving record evaluation.
3. (c) The assessment of penalty points is not required for any entry which does not appear in the alphabetized table listings. However, any entry which is deemed comparable to one appearing in these tables should be assessed an equivalent number of penalty points.
4. (d) Appeal procedure for assessment of points due to accident involvement. Two points should automatically be assessed for an accident involvement occurring within three years of the date of the driver record evaluation which appears on the driver history record. Applicants assessed two points for accident involvements appearing on their driving record may request a review by the person designated by the employer to determine if they were a cause of the accident(s). The applicant must identify the specific accident involvement(s) to be reviewed. Request a copy of the accident report(s) on the approved form. Mail the form to Accident Records Bureau, Texas Department of Public Safety at the address listed on the form. The requested reports will be provided on a priority basis without charge. The designated person shall review information pertinent to the accident(s), which should include the Texas Peace Officer's Accident Report. In examining this report, consideration of such items as Charges Filed, Investigator's Narrative of What Happened, Diagram, and Factors/Conditions Contributing to the Accident should assist in making a determination as to whether or not the assessment of penalty points is appropriate. If the designated person reviews the accident report and any other pertinent information and determines that the applicant was not a cause of the accident(s), no penalty points shall be assessed. If the designated person determines that the applicant was a cause of the accident(s), two penalty points shall be assessed for each accident. The decision of the employer is final.

5. (e) Appeal procedure for administrative disqualification.

   1. (1) Ten penalty points should automatically be assessed for any of the code entries listed in Table V, Figure 3: §14.1(3) of this title, that appear on the driver's license record of a school bus driver. Any persons disqualified from driving a school bus on the basis of penalty points assessed from an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) suspension or disqualification appearing on their driver's license record and who has properly filed an appeal, may request the points be withdrawn pending appeal of the ALR judge's decision.

   2. (2) The school bus driver must provide to the employer or designated person a file-stamped copy of the appeal filed with the State Office of Administrative Hearings and Texas Department of Public Safety. Once the designated person has confirmed that an appeal has been properly filed, the penalty points assessed for an ALR suspension or disqualification shall be removed from the applicant's driving record pending the final decision of the appeal if:

      1. (A) the applicant's driver's license has not been suspended as a result of any alcohol-related or drug-related enforcement contact (as defined in the Texas Transportation Code, §524.001) during the five years preceding the date of the person's arrest; and

      2. (B) the person has not been convicted during the ten years preceding the date of the person's arrest of an offense under:

         1. (i) Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6701l-1, as that law existed before September 1, 1994;
         2. (ii) Texas Penal Code, §19.05(a)(2), as that law existed before September 1, 1994;
         3. (iii) Texas Penal Code, §49.04; or
         4. (iv) Texas Penal Code, §49.07 or §49.08, if the offense involved the operation of a motor vehicle.
   3. (3) A withdrawal of the penalty points under this table is effective for not more than ninety days after the date the appeal petition is filed. On the expiration of the ninetieth day, the person designated by the employer shall assess ten penalty points. An extension of the ninety-day period or additional time shall not be allowed.
   4. (4) If, in the final decision of the court, the driver's license is not suspended/disqualified, no penalty points shall be assessed. If, in the final decision of the court, the driver's license is suspended or disqualified, ten penalty points shall be assessed for each suspension or disqualification arising from a separate arrest.
   5. (5) Credit for concurrent suspension arising from same alcohol-related incident. If a criminal conviction occurs that arises out of the same arrest as the ALR suspension/disqualification, the penalty points shall be assessed for the Table IV criminal conviction only. Any disqualification time already served under the Table V disqualification will be credited to the Table IV disqualification time period. The total disqualification period arising out of the same arrest shall not be longer than seven years.

Source Note:The provisions of this §14.14 adopted to be effective October 7, 1996, 21 TexReg 9243; amended to be effective July 7, 1999, 24 TexReg 5023.