(a) Registered school buses while transporting school children shall be operated by holders of a valid passenger and school endorsement issued in accordance with § 14-44. Such endorsement shall be held in addition to the commercial driver’s license required for the operation of such motor vehicles. A person who has attained the age of seventy shall be allowed to hold a passenger and school endorsement for the purpose of operating a school bus, provided such person meets the minimum physical requirements set by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and agrees to submit to a physical examination at least twice a year or when requested to do so by the superintendent of the school system in which such person intends to operate a school bus. Any person to whom a town has awarded a contract for the transportation of school children who permits the operation of a registered school bus while transporting school children by any person who does not hold a passenger and school endorsement shall be fined not less than two thousand five hundred dollars or more than five thousand dollars.

(b) On and after October 1, 2019, each carrier engaged in the transportation of students shall register with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. Registration shall include the carrier’s name, address and the name of the employee or agent assigned to perform the carrier’s responsibilities under subsection (c) of this section. A carrier shall file amendments to the registration to report to the commissioner any material change in any information contained in the registration not later than thirty calendar days after the carrier knows or reasonably should know of the material change.

(c) Not less than once during the first and third week of each month, a carrier shall review the report made by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (h) of § 14-44, with reference to the name and motor vehicle operator’s license number of each person such carrier employs to operate a school bus, as defined in § 14-275, or a student transportation vehicle, as defined in § 14-212. If, according to such report, any such employee’s motor vehicle operator’s license or endorsement to operate a school bus or student transportation vehicle has been withdrawn, suspended or revoked, such carrier shall immediately prohibit such employee from operating a school bus or student transportation vehicle.

(d) Any carrier who fails to register with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, or review the report made by the commissioner, pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, shall be subject to a civil penalty of one thousand dollars for the first violation, and two thousand five hundred dollars for each subsequent violation. Any carrier who fails to take immediate action to prohibit the operation of a school bus or student transportation vehicle by an operator who appears on a report, pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, shall be subject to a civil penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars for the first violation, and five thousand dollars for each subsequent violation. Upon appropriate justification presented to the commissioner by any carrier, the commissioner may make a determination to reduce any such penalty.