Rule 5101:2-12-14 | Transportation and field trip safety for a licensed child care center.
(A) What is to be available on all trips, including routine walking trips?
The center is to:
(1) Have written and signed permission from the parent before transporting or escorting a child away from the center for field trips and routine trips as detailed in appendix A to this rule. The permission slips are to be kept on file at the center for one year from the date of the trip.
(2) Attach to each child on a routine or field trip, except children being transported only to and from school or to and from home, identification containing the center's name, address, and a telephone number to contact in the event the child becomes lost.
(3) Have a completed copy of the JFS 01234 "Child Enrollment and Health Information for Child Care" for each child on the trip, except routine walks.
(4) Have first aid supplies as required by rule 5101:2-12-16 of the Administrative Code.
(5) Have the completed JFS 01236 "Child Medical/Physical Care Plan for Child Care" for any child who has a health condition which could need medication, special procedures or precautions during the course of the trip. The center is also to take supplies needed to provide such treatment and medications that may need to be administered during the trip.
(6) Have a working cellular phone or other means of immediate communication. Cellular phones are not to be used by a driver while the vehicle is in motion.
(7) Ensure that the child care staff member responsible for each child on the field trip maintains a written record of which vehicle each child is being transported in and the cellular phone number of the adult in that vehicle who could be contacted in an emergency.
(8) Ensure that a person trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid and management of communicable disease in accordance with rule 5101:2-12-10 of the Administrative Code is present in the vehicle for routine trips and field trips and at the destination on all field trips. More than one person may be used to meet this requirement.
(9) Ensure that if the vehicle used to transport children is manufactured with seat belts, they are to be utilized by adults and children, no more than one person may be strapped in each seat belt. Children or adults are not to be permitted to stand in a moving vehicle, sit on the floor or ride in a vehicle where all seats are not securely anchored.
(10) Not leave children in the vehicle when it is being refueled except when a trip is of such a length as to need refueling after starting with a full tank.
(B) What are the ratio and supervision requirements for trips, including routine walking trips?
(1) The staff/child ratio requirements of rule 5101:2-12-18 of the Administrative Code are to be met on field trips and routine trips. Children are to be assigned to specific child care staff members for all field trips.
(2) Parents, guardians or adults authorized by the center may be drivers on field trips as long as staff/child ratio requirements are met at the destination.
(3) One additional adult is to be present in the vehicle whenever five or more children are being transported and one or more of the children are infants.
(4) One additional adult is to be present in the vehicle when there are seven or more children being transported and no infants are present.
(5) One additional adult is to be present in the vehicle when there are ten or more school-age children, or the driver is to have a means of immediate communication, such as a cellular phone, to summon an additional adult when only school-age children are transported in one vehicle.
(6) The additional adult in the vehicle may be the driver, parent or volunteer.
(7) The vehicle is to be checked at completion of each trip to ensure that no child has been left on the vehicle.
(8) During routine walking trips or walking field trips, one additional adult is to be present when there are five or more infants or a combination of seven or more toddlers, preschool and school-age children or for ten or more school-age children if the group of children on the walking trip includes only school-age children.
(9) While children are being transported from their homes or schools directly to the center or from the center directly to their homes or schools, the children are not to count in the center's capacity.
(C) What are the driver requirements for employees and child care staff members of the center?
(1) The employee or child care staff member driver is to:
(a) Be at least eighteen years old.
(b) Hold a currently valid driver's license required for the type of vehicle driven in accordance with Ohio law.
(i) A copy of each driver's current driver's license is to be kept on file at the center.
(ii) The center is responsible for ensuring that the copy of the driver's license on file is kept current.
(c) Be free from the influence of any substance which could impair driving abilities.
(d) Ensure that all passengers, which includes the driver, adhere to the state of Ohio's child restraint law found in section 4511.81 of the Revised Code when transporting children in care.
(e) Not allow children under twelve years of age to ride in the front seat of any vehicle.
(f) See that each child safely boards and exits the vehicle from the curb side of the street whenever physically possible and out of the path of moving vehicles. Drop off or pick up at which it is not possible to board and exit from the curb side is to be conducted in a safe manner and with close supervision by the child care staff member responsible for the children.
(g) Complete the Ohio department of job and family services (ODJFS) child care transportation training in the Ohio professional registry (OPR).
(i) A trained child care staff member is not required in the vehicle on field trips when parents are providing the transportation.
(ii) A trained child care staff member is not required when public transportation is being utilized or if the school district is providing transportation to or from the center .
(h) Practice the emergency exiting procedures.
(i) The emergency exiting procedures are to be practiced with the children on a monthly basis.
(ii) This practice is to occur during months that the vehicle is used for transporting children and is to take place on the center's premises or another safe location that is protected from traffic and other hazards to ensure the safety of the children involved.
(iii) A written record is to be kept of the dates when the emergency exiting procedure was practiced and the staff that were involved.
(2) Parents, who are not employed by the center, who use their vehicles for transportation to occasional field trips do not have to meet the requirements of paragraph (C) of this rule. For the purposes of this rule, "occasional" means three or fewer times per calendar year.
(3) The requirements outlined in paragraph (C) of this rule do not apply to public transportation drivers or companies contracted by the program and who are not employees or child care staff members.
(4) Training for transportation is to be documented in the OPR or kept on file at the center in the employee's or child care staff member's file for review by the ODJFS.
(D) What are the vehicle requirements for the center?
(1) Any vehicle operated by the center or driven by an employee or child care staff member to transport children for routine trips or field trips is to be mechanically safe at all times.
(2) Requirements for center vehicles used for transportation of children are listed in appendix B to this rule.
(3) The personal vehicles driven by parents who are not employed by the center are not required to meet the requirements of paragraph (E) of this rule.
(E) When are vehicles used for transporting children to be inspected?
The vehicles used for transporting children are to be inspected weekly by child care center staff and annually by an automotive service excellence (ASE) certified mechanic, federal motor carrier safety administration (FMCSA) safety inspector, or the Ohio state highway patrol.
(1) The center is to maintain documentation that staff have performed weekly inspections followed by any necessary repairs or other appropriate actions, for the following items:
(a) A visual inspection of the vehicle's tires for wear and adequate pressure.
(b) A visual inspection for working headlights and taillights, signals, mirrors, wiper blades and dash gauges.
(c) An inspection for properly functioning child and driver restraints.
(d) An inspection for properly functioning doors and windows.
(e) An inspection for, and cleaning of, debris from the vehicle's interior.
(2) The annual safety check is to be completed and approved prior to the use of any vehicle for transporting children, except that a new vehicle purchased directly from the dealer is to have the safety check completed before one year from the date of purchase. The bill of sale from the vehicle purchase is to be maintained on file at the center to verify compliance.
(a) Verification of the safety check is to be documented on the JFS 01230 "Vehicle Inspection Report for Child Care" and include notation and correction of any safety violation, and is to be maintained on file at the center for review by the ODJFS.
(b) A vehicle sticker issued from the Ohio state highway patrol indicating the vehicle has passed a school bus or personal vehicle inspection may be used to meet the annual safety check requirement.
(c) School buses and multifunction school activity buses which are inspected and licensed by the Ohio state highway patrol are exempt from the annual safety check required in this rule. The center is to prepare the buses before each trip following the Ohio department of education's operational and safety rules of Chapter 3301-83 of the Administrative Code.
Last updated October 29, 2021 at 8:35 AM
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