121.555(3)(a)(a) Subject to par. (c), any person that employs or contracts with an individual, except an individual who holds a valid school bus endorsement issued under s. 343.12, to operate a motor vehicle under sub. (1) to transport pupils shall do all of the following before the individual is initially permitted to operate the vehicle and every 4 years thereafter:

121.555(3)(a)1.1. Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335, request from the records maintained by the department of justice a criminal history search of the individual. Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335, if the individual who is the subject of the criminal history search has not resided in this state at anytime within the 2 years preceding the date of the search, the person shall make a good faith effort to obtain additional criminal history information from any state in which the individual has resided during this time period or from any other applicable federal or state agency.

121.555(3)(a)2.2. Request the individual’s operating record from the department of transportation under s. 343.24 or, if the operating record has already been obtained by another entity, from that entity if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the operating record obtained from that entity is accurate and was furnished by the department of transportation to that entity not more than 2 months previously.

121.555(3)(b)(b) Any person that employs or contracts with an individual to operate a motor vehicle under sub. (1) to transport pupils, except an individual who holds a valid school bus endorsement issued under s. 343.12, may require the individual to be fingerprinted on 2 fingerprint cards, each bearing a complete set of the individual’s fingerprints, or by other technologies approved by law enforcement agencies. The department of justice may provide for the submission of the fingerprint cards or fingerprints by other technologies to the federal bureau of investigation for the purposes of verifying the identity of the individual fingerprinted and obtaining records of his or her criminal arrests and convictions. Except as provided in this paragraph, fingerprints obtained under this paragraph shall be kept confidential.

121.555(3)(c)(c) Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335, no person that employs or contracts with an individual, except an individual who holds a valid school bus endorsement issued under s. 343.12, to operate a motor vehicle under sub. (1) to transport pupils may permit the individual to operate such a vehicle if any of the following applies:

121.555(3)(c)1.1. The person knows or should know that the individual has a record of conviction or operating privilege revocation or adjudicated delinquency that would disqualify the person from issuance or renewal of a school bus endorsement under s. 343.12 (7) and rules promulgated by the department of transportation under s. 343.12 (7) and (8).

121.555(4)(a)(a) An individual who is employed by or under contract with a person to operate a motor vehicle under sub. (1) to transport pupils shall report to the person in writing within 10 days of the occurrence of any of the following:

121.555(4)(a)1.1. Any accident in which the individual was involved as the operator of a motor vehicle, regardless of whether the individual was issued a uniform traffic citation or charged with any offense or whether the individual was operating a motor vehicle under sub. (1) to transport pupils.

121.555(4)(a)2.2. Notwithstanding ss. 111.321, 111.322, and 111.335, any conviction or operating privilege revocation that, under sub. (3) (c), makes the individual ineligible to operate a motor vehicle under sub. (1) to transport pupils or, if the individual holds a valid school bus endorsement issued under s. 343.12, that disqualifies the individual from issuance or renewal of a school bus endorsement under s. 343.12 (7) and rules promulgated by the department of transportation under s. 343.12 (7) and (8).

121.555(4)(a)3.3. Any suspension or revocation of the individual’s operating privilege, or cancellation of a school bus endorsement, by this state or another jurisdiction.

121.555(4)(b)(b) No individual may provide false or incomplete information with respect to any material fact on a background information form specified in sub. (3) (a) 3.

121.555(5)(5) No individual may operate a motor vehicle under sub. (1) to transport pupils if the individual is ineligible to do so under sub. (2) (c) and (cm) or under sub. (3) (c).

121.555(6)(a)(a) The department shall prepare and make available to school districts, private schools, and contractors providing pupil transportation services informational materials, in printed or electronic form, relating to compliance with this section.

121.555(6)(b)(b) In consultation with persons that employ or contract with individuals to operate motor vehicles under sub. (1), the department shall prescribe a background information form for purposes of sub. (3). The form shall require an individual under sub. (3) (a) to specify whether the individual is listed in the registry under s. 146.40 (4g) (a) 2.

121.555(7)(7) Any person that employs or contracts with an individual to operate a motor vehicle under sub. (1) to transport pupils shall maintain all records and furnish all information determined necessary to determine compliance with this section.

121.555(8)(a)(a) Any individual who violates sub. (4) (a) or (5) may be required to forfeit not more than $100 for the first offense and not more than $200 for each subsequent offense.

121.555(8)(b)(b) Any individual who violates sub. (4) (b) may be required to forfeit not more than $1,000.

121.56121.56 School bus routes. The school board of each district shall make and be responsible for all necessary provisions for the transportation of pupils, including establishment, administration and scheduling of school bus routes. Upon the request of any school board, the state superintendent shall provide advice and counsel on problems of school transportation. Any private school shall, upon the request of the public school officials, supply all necessary information and reports. The transportation of public and private school pupils shall be effectively coordinated to insure the safety and welfare of the pupils. Upon receipt of a signed order from the state superintendent, the school board shall discontinue any route specified by the state superintendent.

121.56 AnnotationThe refusal by a public school board to transport parochial pupils during a public school vacation violated s. 121.54 (2) (b) 1. Hahner v. Board of Education, 89 Wis. 2d 180, 278 N.W.2d 474 (Ct. App. 1979).