Section 8-28-4 - Responsibility and authority of department personnel(a) Upon receipt of a driver's written report, the school principal shall conduct an investigation of the incident. The principal shall give the student oral or written notice of the report against the student. If the student denies the charge, the student shall be given an opportunity to present the student's version of the incident.(b) If the principal finds that the charges are sustained, the student may be precluded from riding the bus, or given a warning. The bus driver and parent shall be sent a copy of the report and the results of the investigation. If the preclusion is necessary, the principal shall give notice of any preclusion regardless of its length to the student, parent and bus driver. The notice shall state: (1) The specific acts allegedly committed by the student which form the basis of the action;(2) The rule allegedly violated;(3) The length of the preclusion; and(4) That the parent may request a conference with the principal or request a hearing before the district superintendent if the preclusion exceeds ten days.(c) If the preclusion exceeds ten days, the parent may request a hearing before the district superintendent within five school days from the date of receipt of the notice. Upon receipt of a request for a hearing, the district superintendent shall schedule a hearing within ten school days of receiving the request and shall notify all interested parties of its date, time and place. The student may be permitted to ride the bus after preclusion of ten days pending the results of the hearing unless the district superintendent finds that the student's continued presence on the bus will jeopardize the safety of other passengers or the driver. The hearing shall be conducted by the district superintendent or by an impartial person, designated by the district superintendent, who may be an official of the department. The hearing shall be conducted as follows: (1) It shall be private unless the student or parent requests that it be public;(2) All parties have the right to present evidence, cross-examine witnesses and submit rebuttal testimony;(3) The district superintendent or the district superintendent's designee need not follow the formal rules of evidence;(4) The district superintendent or the district superintendent's designee shall impartially weigh the evidence. The district superintendent may request and consider any records or information relevant to the charge or disposition, provided that the record of information shall be made available to the student and parent or their representative;(5) Parties to the proceeding may make a transcript or recording of the hearing at their own expense;(6) Not later than three school days after the close of the hearing, the district superintendent shall render a decision in writing stating clearly the action to be taken and the reasons therefore; the decision shall be mailed, certified mail, return receipt requested, or personally delivered to the student, parent, and driver;(7) In the event the hearing is conducted by a person other than the district superintendent, the recommended decision and record shall be reviewed by the district superintendent who may accept, reject or modify the decision, provided that in the event any change is made, the district superintendent shall state reasons, therefor, in writing. In reviewing the recommended decision, the district superintendent shall not consider matters outside of the case record; and(8) The decision of the district superintendent shall be final.(d) The school principal shall observe the following procedures when a driver reports refusal of transportation for a student because of safety reasons: (1) The principal shall conduct an immediate investigation of the incident upon receipt of the driver's report and provide measures to prevent recurrences of the incident in consultation with the parent, student, bus driver and school staff who are familiar with the student.(2) If it appears that the continued presence of the student on the bus would jeopardize the safety of other passengers or the driver, the principal may preclude the student from riding the bus in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. If the transportation is provided to the student as a "related service" as defined in chapter 8-36, Administrative Rules, entitled, "Provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education For Exceptional Children Who Are Handicapped", the principal shall request the department of accounting and general services to provide alternate transportation.[Eff. NOV 15, 1984] (Auth: HRS § 302A-1112) (Imp: HRS §§ 286-181, 302A-1112)