SALEM, Ore. A committee of state, school and motorcoach industry representatives is moving toward developing a new regulation that would allow schools in the state to permanently use motorcoaches to transport their students to school activities.

Since October, Oregon schools have been operating under a temporary rule that requires them to seek a special variance from the state superintendent of public instruction before being allowed to use coaches instead of school buses to transport kids to school-related events.

The rule was adopted by the state school board in response to a ban on the use of motorcoaches that was issued by the state Department of Education after state lawyers discovered that motorcoaches do not meet state school transportation safety standards.

The ban sparked protests from schools, parents, students and private motorcoach carriers, prompting education officials to quickly adopt the temporary rule and form the committee to work out a permanent solution.

While there have been indications that the temporary rule has worked well, school and motorcoach officials are eager to see a permanent and possibly simpler rule and procedure established.

The process for a school to obtain a variance under the temporary rule requires it to provide the state with a substantial amount of detailed information, ranging from reasons why a school bus could not be used for the activity, to safety records for the private carrier, to assurances the drivers have passed criminal background checks.

Education officials said the committee is tentatively planning to hold a hearing Feb. 27 to solicit public comment on the issue and is hopeful of having a rule developed in time for a first reading before the school board in March and formal adoption in April.

The temporary rule expires April 18 and if a new regulation is not in place by then, the ban against the use of motorcoaches would go back into effect.

The status of the ban and efforts to find a permanent solution have created considerable confusion in the motorcoach and school bus industries, including inaccurate reports the state had backed away from the temporary rule and granted schools a permanent variance to use motorcoaches to transport their students.

"Our state board administrator says 'no,' that is incorrect," emphasized Gene Evans, communications director for the education department. "The rule expires (in April) and the work group is pursuing a permanent solution."

The confusion appears to have come from a bulletin the education department issued Dec. 1 that clarified portions of the temporary rule. Some people in the motorcoach and school industries apparently mistook the document as making the temporary rule permanent.

Officials said it is too early to tell exactly what a permanent rule might look like, although some motorcoach operators worried about it possibly making it more difficult for schools to use coaches.

Early discussions by some members of the committee involved concerns that motorcoach drivers might not have enough training to transport school children and that some coaches lacked some safety equipment such as fire suppression devices in the wheel wells and extra mirrors.

"We told them if they make the rules too stringent, we wont haul school kids," said committee member Kurt Hand of Oregon Coachways in Eugene, Ore.

The issue that led to the ban surfaced more than two months ago when the education department received a routine request from a school district seeking permission to license a charter bus so it could be used to transport students to school activities.

Instead of simply issuing the permit, the department ran the request by lawyers at the state Department of Justice who reviewed existing regulations and determined that motorcoaches do not meet the current safety standards required for school use. They said school buses have stronger roofs that are less likely to crush in rollover accidents, smaller windows that might lessen the chances of passenger being ejected, safety exits and nonflammable seats.

About 40 school districts in the state had been using motorcoaches for some of their transportation needs and some out-of-town school trips had to be canceled before the temporary rule was adopted because officials did not want to use school buses for long highway drives.

"They did not want their students riding in school buses for eight hours or so," said Evans.