In those places in the state where the department or a school district provides transportation for children attending public schools, the department also shall provide transportation for children who, in compliance with the provisions of AS 14.30, attend nonpublic schools that are administered in compliance with state law where the children, in order to reach the nonpublic schools, must travel distances comparable to, and over routes the same as, the distances and routes over which the children attending public schools are transported. The commissioner shall administer this nonpublic school student transportation program, integrating it into existing systems as much as feasible, and the cost of the program shall be paid from funds appropriated for that purpose by the legislature.

(a) A school district that provides student transportation services is eligible to receive funding for operating the student transportation system. Subject to appropriation, the amount of funding provided by the state under this section is the lesser of the amount determined by multiplying the amount of the school district's ADM less the ADM for the district's correspondence programs during the current fiscal year

(1) by a per student allocation computed by dividing the amount received by the school district under this section during fiscal year 2003 by the school district's ADM less the ADM for the district's correspondence programs during fiscal year 2003; or

(2) by $1,200 per student.

(b) In this section,

(1) 'ADM' has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 ;

(2) 'district's ADM' means the sum of the ADMs in the district.

(a) A school district or regional educational attendance area that provides for the transportation of pupils shall require that the drivers of motor vehicles used to transport pupils submit to testing for the use of drugs and alcohol. The testing program must include random testing. A driver who tests positive for the improper use of drugs or alcohol may be disciplined, including termination from employment.

(b) For a driver who is not required to have a commercial driver's license, an employer

(1) shall keep and maintain records of the testing for improper use of drugs or alcohol on a confidential basis and may only release the results with the written consent of the employee; and

(2) may not retain false positive test results in the employee's employment records and may not release information about a false positive test without the written consent of the employee.

(c) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this section. The regulations must include a provision for a hearing before discipline is imposed.

(d) In this section, 'improper use of drugs or alcohol' means use that constitutes a criminal offense and use that violates regulations adopted by the department under this section.

(a) A municipal school district or regional educational attendance area shall

(1) provide instruction on safe boarding, riding, exiting, and emergency procedures to school children transported to or from a public school by school bus;

(2) provide instruction to drivers and passengers on the proper use of seat belts if school children in the municipal school district or regional educational attendance area are transported in buses equipped with seat belts; and

(3) conduct at least three school bus drills each school year in safe boarding, exiting, and emergency procedures; one drill must be conducted during the first three weeks of the school term.

(b) The department shall

(1) establish equipment requirements for each type of school bus that is used to transport school children to or from a public school;

(2) at least twice each calendar year, inspect each school bus for compliance with requirements adopted under this subsection; and

(3) maintain a record of each accident involving a school bus or other vehicle transporting school children that is owned by, leased by, or provided under contract to a municipal school district or regional educational attendance area; the record must include the date of the accident, a list of persons injured, whether the person's injury occurred within the school bus, and each type of injury.