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That's the question the investigative team of NBC-2 asked after a Cape Coral Preparatory and Fitness Academy school bus caught fire on its way to drop off students in March 2015. Florida law requires inspections be done every 30 days, and schools are to review the results. The charter school in question did reply, according to NBC-2, saying it reviewed inspection reports on April 1, 2015. It took months for the school and the bus company, Academy Transport, to turn over to the district the required inspection reports. When the reports were turned over to the district, the district found that all the Academy buses failed the inspection. The news of the safety failures of Academy Transport buses prompted the district to ask the charter school, by letter, to prove that the inspections were ever actually reviewed.

The 12 buses which failed had major safety concerns, namely, emergency equipment that did not work, wipers and gauges that were not in service and front and back breaks which needed to be replaced.

According to NBC-2 on September 16, 2015, the Cape Coral school bus safety case of March 2015 is now closed. Even so, this has been a lesson to us all and prompted an investigation by the Lee County School District following which they issued a new district policy which spelled out charter schools' responsibilities to ensure bus drivers are certified and maintain safety records.

A board representative said, "For the first time immediately after the policy was implemented, we required them to submit their transportation plans to us. Those are being reviewed now." In addition to this the district officials throughout the year will randomly check records.  

What are the responsibilities of schools for their buses?

Under the Florida Department of Education Code 6A-3.0171, the Superintendent of each school district is responsible:

“To organize or approve an inspection, maintenance and repair service for publicly owned or contracted buses designed to ensure that the condition of each bus is maintained to meet or exceed accepted school bus industry and state standards, and which will be adequate to provide for quick and economical repair of any bus, and to make sure that this service functions efficiently.”

Even though charter schools are public schools, they are often run by private management companies. Florida has a school-choice program under which charter schools operate, but they do not have to operate under all the same requirements as public schools. They do, however, under Florida statutes, have to comply with all statutes pertaining to student health, safety, and welfare.

Who regulates charter buses?

Since they do not cross state lines, charter bus companies are not regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSA). However, all states are required to have motor carrier regulations substantially identical to the FMCSA.

School buses fall into the category of "common carriers" as do private charter buses, tour buses, city buses, county buses and other commercial buses and passenger vans under Florida and Federal laws. For common carriers to operate in Florida, they have to adhere to certain industry-specific regulations which are implemented to protect the general public.

Since buses are larger, carry more passengers and may, or may not, have safety equipment, these cases are more complex. There are multiple entities involved. When an investigation determines that an accident was caused because of defective design, or part defects, manufacturers may have liability.

"If you or a loved one has been injured in a charter bus accident, be sure to contact a personal injury attorney immediately. When time elapses between the time of the accident and the time you contact an attorney, evidence may be gone along with recollection of the details," said Fort Myers Vehicle Injury Attorney, Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

Fort Myers Vehicle Accident Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839,or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.