i-13.3, r. 12 - Regulation respecting student transportation

Updated to 15 February 2024

This document has official status.

chapter I-13.3, r. 12

Regulation respecting student transportation

Education Act

(chapter I-13.3, ss. 453 and 454).

On 10 August 2020, the Superior Court ordered a stay of the application of the Act to amend mainly the Education Act with regard to school organization and governance (S.Q. 2020, c. 1) to English language school boards until a judgment is rendered on the merits of the application for judicical review challenging the validity of certain provisions of the Act.

DIVISION I INTERPRETATION

1. In this Regulation:

“service centre” means a school service centre authorized under section 291 of the Education Act (chapter I-13.3) to provide transportation for all or some of its students; (centre de services)

“bus” means a school bus within the meaning of section 2 of the Regulation respecting road vehicles used for the transportation of school children (chapter T-12, r. 17); (autobus)

“educational institution” means a private educational institution authorized to exercise the powers granted by the second paragraph of section 62 of the Act respecting private education (chapter E-9.1); (établissement d’enseignement)

“minibus” means a school minibus within the meaning of section 2 of the Regulation respecting road vehicles used for the transportation of school children; (minibus)

“public transit authority” means every transit authority established under the Act respecting public transit authorities (chapter S-30.01), and the Réseau de transport métropolitain; (organisme public de transport en commun)

“vehicle used for the transportation of school children” means an automobile equipped by its manufacturer with at least 4 and not more than 10 safety belts, a rigid roof and at least 3 side doors with windows. (véhicule affecté au transport des élèves)

O.C. 647-91, s. 1; O.C. 286-97, s. 1; O.C. 306-2008, s. 1; S.Q. 2016, c. 8, s. 121.

DIVISION II ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STUDENT TRANSPORTATION

2. The advisory committee on student transportation of a service centre shall consist of the following members:

(1)  the director general or the assistant director general of the service centre;

(2)  the director general or the assistant director general of any school service centre for which the service centre organizes student transportation;

(3)  (paragraph revoked);

(4)  the person responsible for the student transportation services of the service centre;

(5)  the principal of a school of the service centre;

(6)  a representative of the parents’ committee of the service centre and, where the service centre provides all or part of the transportation services of another school service centre, a representative of the parents’ committee of that service centre;

(7)  2 members of the centre’s board of directors and, where the centre provides all or part of the transportation services of another school service centre, 2 members of its board of directors;

(8)  the representative of the private educational institution for which the service centre provides transportation for the greatest number of students;

(9)  the representative of the general and vocational college for which the service centre provides transportation for the greatest number of students;

(10)  a representative of each public transit authority whose territory intersects with that of the service centre;

(11)  (paragraph revoked).

O.C. 647-91, s. 2; O.C. 306-2008, s. 2; S.Q. 2016, c. 8, s. 122; O.C. 816-2021, s. 68.

3. A person holding an interest in a student transportation enterprise operating, in whole or in part, in the territory of the service centre may not be a member of the advisory committee on student transportation of the service centre.

O.C. 647-91, s. 3.

4. One-third of the committee members constitutes a quorum.

O.C. 647-91, s. 4.

5. A committee shall elect a chair and a vice-chair who replaces the chair when the latter is absent.

O.C. 647-91, s. 5.

6. A committee shall fix the place, date and time of its meetings.

It must meet upon the request of the chair or the vice-chair; in such case, a notice of meeting shall be sent to each member.

O.C. 647-91, s. 6.

7. A committee shall give its opinion on each issue for which it must make a decision and on each issue submitted to it by the service centre.

An opinion must be given within 15 days of a request, unless the service centre grants the committee a longer period of time.

O.C. 647-91, s. 7.

8. The premises, administrative support services and facilities necessary for the deliberations of a committee shall be provided by the service centre.

O.C. 647-91, s. 8.

9. A committee shall give its opinion on the planning, coordination, financing and administration of student transportation.

O.C. 647-91, s. 9.

10. A committee shall give its opinion on the student transportation organization plan of the service centre and on the terms and conditions for the granting of contracts for the transportation of students, before the service centre adopts that plan or sets the terms and conditions for granting those contracts.

O.C. 647-91, s. 10.

11. A committee shall give its opinion on the criteria and the terms and conditions for using a service referred to in section 298 of the Education Act (chapter I-13.3), before the service centre establishes those criteria or sets the terms and conditions for using that service.

O.C. 647-91, s. 11.

12. A committee shall give its opinion on the use of all or a part of the amount of a subsidy granted for student transportation that may be used for other purposes.

O.C. 647-91, s. 12.

DIVISION III GRANTING OF CONTRACTS

§ 1 . — Negotiations prior to public tenders

13. A service centre whose territory coincides with the area of jurisdiction of a public transit authority, or an educational institution situated in the territory of such a service centre, must offer the authority, at least 10 days before proceeding with negotiations by agreement or with public tenders, the possibility of providing the transportation service required for the students residing in the area of jurisdiction of that public transit authority.

O.C. 647-91, s. 13; O.C. 306-2008, s. 3; S.Q. 2016, c. 8, s. 123.

14. Before proceeding with public tenders, a service centre or an educational institution is authorized to negotiate a contract by agreement with the holder of an urban or interurban bus transport permit or with a carrier that provides a municipal or intermunicipal transport service for handicapped persons.

Student transportation under such a contract must be integrated into the regular urban or interurban bus transport service of the holder or into the municipal or intermunicipal transport service for handicapped persons provided by the carrier.

O.C. 647-91, s. 14.

15. Subject to section 13, a service centre or an educational institution is authorized, before proceeding with public tenders, to negotiate a contract by agreement with a carrier with which it had contracted the preceding school year for transportation that is to be provided by means of a bus or minibus.

For transportation that is to be provided by means of a vehicule used for the transportation of school children such negotiations by agreement may be carried out with any person.

O.C. 647-91, s. 15; O.C. 286-97, s. 4.

15.1. (Revoked).

O.C. 642-98, s. 1; O.C. 306-2008, s. 4.

16. A service centre or an educational institution that avails itself of the first paragraph of section 15 is not authorized to negotiate a contract with the carrier that would increase the total number of buses and minibuses it requires from the carrier in relation to the preceding school year, except:

(1)  where the contract is for the transportation of handicapped students or for the transportation of students with social maladjustments and learning disabilities and that transportation must be provided by means of a bus or a minibus adapted to such transportation; or

(2)  where the contract provides for the addition of 1 vehicle only and has been previously offered on the same conditions to any carrier whose contract for a bus or a minibus was cancelled during the preceding school year or was not renewed for a reason not related to the quality of service.

O.C. 647-91, s. 16.

16.1. (Revoked).

O.C. 642-98, s. 2; O.C. 306-2008, s. 4.

17. After the regular period of classes has begun and before proceeding with public tenders to meet new transportation requirements that were not anticipated at the beginning of that period, a service centre or an educational establishment, notwithstanding sections 13 to 16, is authorized to negotiate a contract by agreement with a carrier with which it had contracted the preceding school year.

The contract so negotiated may not result in an increase in the total number of buses and minibuses required from that carrier in relation to the preceding school year, except:

(1)  where the contract is for the transportation of handicapped students or for the transportation of students with social maladjustments and learning disabilities and that transportation must be provided by means of a bus or a minibus adapted to such transportation;

(2)  where the contract is granted for a period not exceeding 40 days and may not be renewed;

(3)  where the contract takes effect only from the first day of December following the beginning of the regular period of classes; or

(4)  where the contract provides for the addition of 1 vehicle only and has been previously offered on the same conditions to any carrier whose contract for a bus or a minibus was cancelled during the preceding school year or was not renewed for a reason not related to the quality of service.

O.C. 647-91, s. 17.

17.1. (Revoked).

O.C. 642-98, s. 3; O.C. 306-2008, s. 4.

18. A service centre or an educational institution that avails itself of paragraph 2 of section 16 or subparagraph 4 of the second paragraph of section 17 may not grant to any one carrier more than 1 contract for 1 vehicle.

Where all of the transportation services of a service centre or an educational institution are provided by fewer than 6 carriers, more than 1 contract for 1 vehicle may be granted to any of the carriers.

A service centre or an educational institution is not authorized to grant more than a total of 10 contracts for 1 vehicle.

O.C. 647-91, s. 18; O.C. 754-97, s. 1; O.C. 642-98, s. 4; O.C. 306-2008, s. 5.

19. For the purposes of sections 16 and 17, “handicapped students” or “students with social maladjustments and learning disabilities” are students with moderate, severe or profound intellectual handicaps, motor handicaps, organic handicaps, visual or auditory handicaps, severe development disorders such as alalia or congenital aphasia or autism, psychopathological disorders, serious learning difficulties or conduct and behaviour problems.

O.C. 647-91, s. 19; O.C. 642-98, s. 5; O.C. 306-2008, s. 6.

20. After the regular period of classes has begun, a service centre or an educational institution is authorized, notwithstanding sections 13 to 17, to negotiate a contract by agreement with one of its carriers or with the holder of a bus transport permit of the “chartered bus transport” category, where the purpose of the contract is to provide student transportation for educational, sports or cultural activities.

For the purposes of this section, student transportation provided by a holder of a bus transport permit of the “chartered bus transport” category is deemed to be a public transport service within the meaning of section 1 of the Regulation respecting road vehicles used for the transportation of school children (chapter T-12, r. 17) and the Bus Transport Regulation (chapter T-12, r. 16) applies thereto.

O.C. 647-91, s. 20; O.C. 286-97, s. 8; O.C. 642-98, s. 6; O.C. 306-2008, s. 7.

§ 2 . — Public tenders

21. Public tenders must be called by means of a notice circulated in the electronic tendering system approved by the Government.

O.C. 647-91, s. 21; O.C. 306-2008, s. 8.

22. The notice must specify:

(1)  the term of the contract;

(2)  the places where the student transportation services are required;

(3)  the amount of the deposit or tender security required of the tenderer by the service centre or the educational institution;

(4)  the place where interested persons may obtain the specifications and documents pertaining to the tender;

(5)  the place, date and time of the closing of tenders; and

(6)  the place, date and time of the opening of tenders.

O.C. 647-91, s. 22.

23. Except for transportation to be provided by means of a vehicle used for the transportation of school children, specifications for student transportation must contain a provision stipulating that the tenderer chosen must, each year, before carrying out his contract for the transportation of students, furnish a performance guarantee in the form of:

(1)  a certified cheque for an amount equal to 20% of the price of the contract;

(2)  conventional bearer bonds, issued or guaranteed by the gouvernement du Québec or by the Government of Canada, whose face value corresponds to 20% of the price of the contract and whose term does not exceed 5 years; or

(3)  a performance bond, issued by a company legally empowered to become surety, for an amount equal to 35% of the price of the contract.

The tender documents must include a copy of the contract to be entered into.

Despite the preceding, this section does not apply to a tenderer who shows that the tenderer is a member of a group of carriers providing school busing or transportation services that meets the following conditions:

(1)  the group is duly constituted as a non-profit legal person;

(2)  the group has at least 50 members who are carriers providing school busing or transportation services;

(3)  the members have, collectively, the exclusive use of at least 2,000 buses or minibuses under contract for school busing or transportation purposes for the school year covered by the performance guarantee referred to in the first paragraph; and

(4)  the members have solidarily undertaken to carry out, on the same conditions, any school busing or transportation contracts that other group members fail to carry out.

O.C. 647-91, s. 23; O.C. 286-97, s. 10; O.C. 306-2008, s. 9.

24. Tenders may not be closed before the fifteenth day after the date on which the call for tenders is published.

O.C. 647-91, s. 24.

25. Tenders must be opened by a representative of the service centre or the educational institution, in the presence of no fewer than 2 witnesses, at the place, date and time specified in the notice. Tenderers may be present at the opening of tenders.

O.C. 647-91, s. 25.

26. The names of the tenderers, the prices of their tenders and the amount of the deposit or tender security furnished must be read aloud at the opening of tenders.

O.C. 647-91, s. 26.

27. A tenderer may not withdraw his tender unless:

(1)  the tender is withdrawn before the date and time of the closing of tenders; or

(2)  the person who submitted the tender has obtained, before the tender is accepted, from a service centre or an educational institution, a contract for the transportation of students that begins in the same school year and requires the use of vehicles which otherwise could have been used to provide the services covered by the tender.

O.C. 647-91, s. 27.

28. Within 30 days of the opening of tenders, a service centre or an educational institution must decide whether to accept or reject some or all of the tenders that were submitted and notify the tenderers in writing of its decision.

O.C. 647-91, s. 28.

§ 3 . — Negotiations after opening of public tenders

29. Within 30 days of the opening of tenders, a service centre or an educational institution is authorized to negotiate a contract by agreement with any person for the transportation of students to ensure, on the same conditions, the services described in the specifications of the call for tenders, provided that it first notifies the tenderers in writing of its intention to proceed with such negotiations.

O.C. 647-91, s. 29.

30. A service centre or an educational institution is authorized to enter into a contract in accordance with section 29, provided that:

(1)  the price of the contract is at least 5% lower than the price of the lowest tender and the contracting party is one of the tenderers; or

(2)  the price of the contract is at least 5% lower than the price of the lowest tender and no tenderer agrees to enter into a contract at the new price.

O.C. 647-91, s. 30.

DIVISION IV MINIMUM CONDITIONS STIPULATED IN A CONTRACT

31. A contract for the transportation of students must contain a clause stipulating that the carrier:

(1)  in carrying out the contract, must use vehicles that comply with the Acts and regulations;

(2)  in carrying out the contract, may not use buses or minibuses more than 12 years old according to the model year of the vehicle;

(3)  is authorized, notwithstanding paragraph 2, to use, up to the end of the current school year, buses or minibuses 13 years old where he provides the service centre or the educational institution with a certificate of mechanical inspection issued by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec or by one of its mandataries;

(3.1)  is authorized, notwithstanding subparagraphs 2 and 3, to use, up to the end of the current school year, buses or minibuses 14 years old where

(a)  the carrier provides the service centre or the educational institution with the certificate provided for in subparagraph 3;

(b)  the carrier shows to the service centre or the educational institution that he bought, in order to replace each of those buses or minibuses, a fully electric bus or minibus to be delivered before the next school year or that the delivery of the bus or minibus purchased as replacement depends on the seller receiving a fully electric bus or minibus to be delivered before the next school year;

(4)  must, on request, allow the school service centre or educational institution to consult the record established pursuant to section 202.1 of the Regulation respecting safety standards for road vehicles (chapter C-24.2, r. 32) concerning a school bus or a school minibus;

(5)  must, each year, before carrying out his contract for the transportation of students, provide a performance guarantee covering the whole period of service, excluding periods of strike or lock-out, in the form of:

(a)  a certified cheque for an amount equal to 20% of the price of the contract;

(b)  conventional bearer bonds, issued or guaranteed by the gouvernement du Québec or by the Government of Canada, whose face value corresponds to 20% of the price of the contract and whose term does not exceed 5 years; or

(c)  a performance bond, issued by a company legally empowered to become surety, for an amount equal to 35% of the price of the contract.

Despite the preceding, subparagraph 5 does not apply to a carrier who shows that the carrier is a member of a group of carriers providing school busing or transportation services that meets the following conditions:

(1)  the group is duly constituted as a non-profit legal person;

(2)  the group has at least 50 members who are carriers providing school busing or transportation services;

(3)  the members have, collectively, the exclusive use of at least 2,000 buses or minibuses under contract for school busing or transportation purposes for the school year covered by the performance guarantee referred to in subparagraph 5;

(4)  the members have solidarily undertaken to carry out, on the same conditions, any school busing or transportation contracts that other group members fail to carry out.

O.C. 647-91, s. 31; O.C. 286-97, s. 16; O.C. 306-2008, s. 10; O.C. 1363-2021, s. 1; O.C. 1363-2021, s. 2; O.C. 14-2024, s. 1.

32. A contract for the transportation of students must in addition contain a clause stipulating that the specifications which are the subject of the call for tenders or the negotiation by agreement form an integral part of the contract and must specify the number and capacity of the vehicles as well as the kilometres required for the carrying out of the contract.

O.C. 647-91, s. 32.

33. A contract referred to in sections 31 and 32 must also, where its duration exceeds 1 year, contain a clause stipulating that the price of the contract must be adjusted annually.

The duration of a contract for the transportation of students may not exceed 8 school years.

O.C. 647-91, s. 33; O.C. 689-95, s. 1; O.C. 754-97, s. 2; O.C. 642-98, s. 7; O.C. 306-2008, s. 11; O.C. 1104-2017, s. 1; O.C. 14-2024, s. 2.

34. Sections 31 and 32 and the first paragraph of section 33 do not apply to the contracts referred to in sections 13 and 14 or to a contract for the transportation of students that is carried out by means of a vehicule used for the transportation of school children.

A contract for the transportation of students referred to in sections 13 and 14 must specify the number of students to be transported.

O.C. 647-91, s. 34; O.C. 286-97, s. 17; O.C. 754-97, s. 13; O.C. 642-98, s. 8.

35. (Omitted).

O.C. 647-91, s. 35.

36. (Omitted).

O.C. 647-91, s. 36.

TRANSITIONAL

2024

(O.C. 14-2024) SECTION 3. Subparagraph 3.1 of the first paragraph of section 31 of the Regulation, as inserted by section 1 of this Regulation, ceases to have effect on 30 June 2025.

2021

(O.C. 1363-2021) SECTION 2. Subparagraph 3.1 of the first paragraph of section 31 of the Regulation, as inserted by paragraph 2 of section 1 of this Regulation, ceases to have effect on 31 October 2023.

REFERENCES

O.C. 647-91, 1991 G.O. 2, 1699

O.C. 689-95, 1995 G.O. 2, 1572

O.C. 286-97, 1997 G.O. 2, 1150

O.C. 754-97, 1997 G.O. 2, 2497

O.C. 642-98, 1998 G.O. 2, 2053

O.C. 306-2008, 2008 G.O. 2, 1113

S.Q. 2016, c. 8, ss. 121 to 123

O.C. 1104-2017, 2017 G.O. 2, 3463

S.Q. 2020, c. 1, s. 312

O.C. 816-2021, 2021 G.O. 2, 2103

O.C. 1363-2021, 2021 G.O. 2, 4596

O.C. 14-2024, 2024 G.O. 2, 283