Regulations relating to construction, design, equipment, and operation of school buses

The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, hereafter referred to in this Section as the "state board", shall establish and adopt regulations for the construction, design, equipment, and operation of school buses used in transportation of students to and from school. Such regulations shall be provided to encourage competition and in no event shall be devised, worded, or construed so as to restrict competition among manufacturers of school bus bodies, chassis, or other equipment or to benefit or favor in any way a particular manufacturer or group of manufacturers of such bus bodies, chassis, or other equipment, including by reference to detail of design specific to a particular manufacturer or group of manufacturers. A school bus body, chassis, or equipment shall meet the latest revised minimum standards for school buses adopted and recommended by the National Congress on School Transportation, sponsored by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, the National Association for Pupil Transportation, the National School Transportation Association, the School Transportation section of the National Safety Council, and the School Bus Manufacturers Technical Council, the regulations adopted pursuant to this Section, and all statutory requirements for the construction, design, equipment, and operation of school buses. This Section shall not apply to feeder buses in operation in this state.