At what age is it legal for a child to ride a school bus in MN?

Question

I found out last Tuesday that the center I work for had taken the 1-5 year olds on a field trip using a school bus...there are no restraints and they did not use the car seats left behind by the parents. My daughter attends that center as well. She was sick that day so neither of us were there, I would not allowed her nor my children in my care to go on the bus (I am the 3 year old preschool teacher) without making sure the parents were aware of this. Apparently the other teachers had to just hold the infants. The ride was over an hour long each way. Is this legal? I will be putting in my 2 weeks on Monday...there are many other issues with this center as well...very unprofessional. and shady and I want nothing to do with it.

Please if someone would tell me what is the legal age for children to be on a regular old school bus without restraints, if you have a MN state site to verify that would be great too!

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi, I don't know the specifics of the laws in MN but I'm SURE that's illegal. You can report them anonymously either by phone or email. I had to report a center I previously worked for because of some other issues. I wrote an anonymous email telling the state the best time & date to show up for an inspection and our state inspection woman showed up at the exact time I suggested. The numbers should be posted in your center but it sounds like they don't follow the rules anyway so you might have to google it or call DHS to find out who to contact. Don't give them your name and act like you don't know what's going on if an inspection person shows up. It will save you a lot of hassle and get the job done. I would be LIVID if someone did that with my child or any of the kids in my classroom. Good luck!

Answer 2

Check this site

http://www.iihs.org/laws/ChildRestraint....

There is a maximum fine of $50 for the first offense.

I would inform the parents immediately then let them file complaints.  I would also inform your state licensing board.  If you know about something that could possibly harm children, you are required to report it or you could be held liable if something happens.

Answer 3

If my children were taken on a bus without proper restraints, I would be furious! My youngest children are almost 4, but I think I would still want them in a seat belt on a bus.

And Chuck E Cheese's? What kind of field trip is that? Only the 4 and 5 year olds should have been allowed to go unless there was 1 teacher per two children, which I'm sure there wasn't. Even then the Twaddlers should not have gone.

I'm sorry I do not know anything about the MN state laws. Good for you for putting in your 2 weeks.

Answer 4

Just out of curiosity, where did they take a group of 1-5 year old children?

Unfortunately, I do not know the laws for Minnesota, but I do know that I would be absolutely furious if I found out my 1 year old was not restrained properly.