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SUPTS. MEMO. NO. 116
August 14, 1998 |
| TO: | Division Superintendents |
| FROM: | Paul D. Stapleton
Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| SUBJECT: | Road Speed Control Devices on School Buses |
The Pupil Transportation Service has identified an issue that may affect the ability of school divisions to operate school buses equipped with Road Speed Governors manufactured by Econocruise. The manufacturers of these Road Speed Control Devices (Governors) are unable to supply parts, or in some cases original equipment, to the school bus dealers in Virginia or to individual school divisions. As you know, school buses are not approved for transporting students unless they are equipped with these devices. We are seeking guidance from the Attorney General?s office to determine how the Department of Education should proceed in addressing this problem. At this point, the agency does not have the authority to waive this regulatory requirement. As soon as a remedy for helping school divisions is identified, we will provide that information to you. In the meantime, please ask your pupil transportation staff to document everything related to these devices and the issue involved. Also, it will be helpful for your staff to be able to show whether or not the affected school buses are gear- bound and, therefore, are mechanically unable to achieve a certain maximum speed. Dr. Barbara V. Goodman or Mr. Vince Nevius are available to discuss this situation with you, and can be reached at 804-225- 2037. Otherwise, you will be notified as soon as we receive anything regarding this issue. PDS/aam