Pupil Transportation

The Pupil Transportation Section ensures that school children throughout the state are transported safely to and from school. Currently, there are approximately 8,230 school buses in operation in the State of Tennessee. This section is responsible for overseeing all school bus inspections in the state and determining whether public school bus systems are in compliance with the safety requirements set forth in the Tennessee Code. Pupil Transportation duties are accomplished through five primary areas: Bus Driver Training, Bus Inspection, Records Administration, Child Care Vehicle Inspection, and Child Care Driver Training.

Each year, the Pupil Transportation Section provides mandatory four-hour school bus driver training sessions to all individuals who have a school bus driver license endorsement. Following each training session, a test is given to all attendees. The results are maintained and distributed by this section. Certificate of Training Awards are completed as proof of attendance and sent to each system as the drivers complete the training. Downgrades are conducted whereby the school bus endorsement is removed from a driver license for failure to attend a training session. During FY 2005-2006, 1,762 school bus drivers were downgraded. Downgrade information is forwarded to the Transportation Director for the county or school system in which the school bus driver is employed.

School buses may receive two different types of inspections annually. School bus inspectors conduct annual and follow-up inspections on school buses in all school systems throughout the state during the school year (August through May). Extended utilization inspections are conducted during the summer months on buses at 12 years old until they reach 15 years of age. At this time, they must be removed from service. Spot checks are conducted at the end of the school year before the extended utilization inspections begin. These inspections are conducted randomly to ensure that buses are being properly maintained.

Complimentary inspections are conducted upon request from Head Start agencies, private schools, and churches. These inspections are worked into the inspectors' schedules, as time permits.

During the 2005-2006 school year, school bus inspections were conducted in 137 systems statewide. (This does not include complimentary inspections.) As a result of these inspections, approximately 1,600 buses were placed out-of-service. Ninety-nine percent of all buses placed out of service were re-inspected within 30 days and cleared for safe operation.

Contact information

• Lt. Ray Robinson
  Tennessee Highway Patrol
  Cooper Hall
  1148 Foster Ave
  Nashville, TN 37243
  (615) 687-2304