Legislative and geopolitical updates that will affect school bus Wi-Fi, clean fuel decisions, bus manufacturing and more.

Kerry Somerville, CEO of Transportation Planning Solutions, shares tips on routing technology, AI and data security. Join him for a deep dive in his “School Bus Routing 101” session at STN EXPO West on July 11, 2025.

Read more about routing and see the STN EXPO agenda.

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The post (STN Podcast E263) Not an Easy Button: Expert Gives School Bus Routing Technology Tips appeared first on School Transportation News.

A curious thing happened in New York State last month. While it is normal each spring
for states to approve budgets for the coming fiscal year, and adding all sorts of funding
provisions, New York legislators took the opportunity to address school bus electrification.

What’s so abnormal about that, you ask? After all, the state is staring down a 2027 deadline for all school districts and bus contractors to only purchase zero-emission school buses, in other words battery-electric.

The budget added another year extension to 2029 for school districts demonstrating hardships in meeting the compliance date, and that’s a good thing. At the same time, legislators included a provision that seemingly makes selling and buying electric school buses that much harder.

Article 11-C calls for independent, third-party estimated range testing in all operating conditions. School bus dealers will need to provide real-world data (or as closely replicated as possible) that demonstrates how range is affected by different road conditions, topography and weather. And by Jan. 1, 2026, no less. While the industry
desperately needs accurate, real-world range estimates rather than perfect-world scenarios that don’t exist, the possibilities under this budget are arduously endless.

Like with most legislation, the devil is in the details. And this budget lacks a lot of it.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) administers the New York School Bus Incentive Program, which supports the adoption of electric school buses across the state. A spokesperson told me, “many engineering firms and other companies across the country focus on testing buses, which could include the range of buses.” But NYSERDA doesn’t maintain a list of names.

Institutions like West Virginia University’s Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions come to mind, but at what price? A representative there had not responded to my question on the feasibility of such a project. The logistics of each manufacturer shipping a year’s worth of electric school bus orders to a testing facility or facilities
makes no logistical or financial sense. Then, there’s the question of how to test. An electric vehicle expert I spoke with said testing an electric school bus on a dynamometer could cost well over $50,000.

That’s before finding a climate-controlled room to mimic all the different weather conditions not to mention road surfaces. It is certainly improbable if not impossible
to physically test drive each school bus on all conceivable types of routes throughout the state.

The NYSERDA spokesperson added that specialized equipment is not necessary, “just buses and a comprehensive testing plan to compare buses and track energy use and miles driven.”

But no such plan for school buses currently exists, according to industry insiders I spoke with. There is statistical data collection for other electric vehicles that could serve as a starting point. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory also has a free data logger that is compatible with telematics systems but is only working with a half-dozen fleets so far.

Meanwhile, the New York fine for noncompliance with the testing, enforced on Jan. 1, is $1,000 per bus. NYSERDA did not respond to a question on where fine revenues would go. Funding a program to help school districts purchase electric school buses and infrastructure would be a good place to start, or to fund the testing it calls for. But who’s to say school bus dealers don’t simply take the fine and proceed with the sale, and pass through the additional costs to customers?

I hear the provision was added to the budget by legislators as a counterbalance to extending the school district waiver and because of the contrast between OEM range estimates and actual range from the field. Expect ongoing discussions in Albany throughout the summer and fall. Realistic electric school bus range data is sorely needed,
there’s no question about that, and existing telematics data from each school bus model and each battery configuration is the key. Take that data and quantify by weather, road conditions and geography. I’m simplifying, of course. The challenge remains that there aren’t enough electric school buses on the nation’s roads yet, much less New York’s, to account for every type of route in every climate. But it’s a start.

The work needs to begin yesterday, or legislators need to fix the provision, to avoid a winter of discontent in the Empire State and possibly beyond.

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the June 2025 issue of School Transportation News. NYSERDA responded to comments after the article went to print, noting that penalties for violations may be recovered by the attorney general, per Section 199-p of the General Business Law.  Find more updated information on the state budget. 

Related: New York Gov. Hochul Open to Extending Electric School Bus Mandate
Related: New York Pushes Forward with Electric School Bus Mandate Despite Opposition
Related: (STN Podcast E209) Let’s Get Into It: NY Organization Tackles Nitty Gritty of Fleet Electrification
Related: State Budget Calls for Real-world Range Testing for Electric School Bus Sales

The post New York State of Charge appeared first on School Transportation News.

A Florida man’s 16-year journey to collect a million-dollar court judgment against a school district following a life-altering school bus crash finally succeeded. Elsewhere, others aren’t as lucky.

When he was 16 years old, Marcus Button was in a car crash with a school bus, leaving him with life-altering traumatic brain injury, loss of vision, and a 16-year journey to collect a court-ordered, million-dollar judgment for damages.

On Sept. 22, 2006, Button was riding to school in the passenger seat of his friend’s Dodge Neon when a school bus took a left turn through an intersection and into the car’s path, leaving Button’s friend with little time to brake. Button struck the windshield.

“Not a week goes by that I don’t think about this case,” said Button’s attorney, J. Steele Olmstead of Tampa, Florida. “He was a hardworking young man who mowed lawns at the trailer park where he lived. He was going to grow up, learn a trade, have a wife and kids, but now he’s just a shell.”

Olmstead said Button planned to enter his family’s drywall business, but his crash-induced disabilities closed that future.

The Button family sued the Pasco County School Board of Land O’ Lakes, Florida, the following year. At trial, Button’s own expert left ambiguous the issue of whether Button had been wearing a seatbelt, prompting the jury to find him 15 percent at fault and his friend 20 percent at fault, placing the remainder of the responsibility on the school district’s shoulders.

In 2009, the jury awarded Button $1.38 million and his parents $289,396. Despite the court judgment, the school district paid out just $163,000 until this year. State law caps government liability at $200,000 for individuals and $300,000 per incident.

While government immunity shields public entities from most lawsuits, and depending on the state, can provide strict liability caps, Florida has an unusual workaround: The claims bill process.

The system dates to the 1830s, when the builder of the state’s second capital building was stiffed on his bill, prompting the territorial legislature to step in with the power of the purse to award his costs.

“The Florida Legislature has a history of trying to right wrongs when the courts can’t,” said Lance Block, who has practiced personal injury law in Florida for more than four decades.

Last year, Block helped reach a $1.2 million settlement with the Pasco County School Board that included the entity’s support on Button’s claims bill. This pact helped push the unopposed passage of Button’s claims bill this year, after the legislature had rejected at least four similar efforts. Both the House and Senate unanimously approved the measure in April.

“People do get justice from time to time, when and if they were in another state where they would be capped, there would be no other recourse,” said Block who has carried about 50 claims bills to the legislature.

Had Button’s crash occurred in another state, it is unlikely he would have found success in overriding the government immunity cap.

After Ashley Zauflik lost her leg in crash with a school bus, a Bucks County Court in Pennsylvania granted her a $14 million judgment in 2011, of which she received the $500,000 allowed under state law. The state supreme court reviewed Zauflik’s case in 2014, and a divided panel ruled the immunity cap did not violate her civil rights.

In other cases, special circumstances even heighten a public entity’s immunity. In a 2021 suit against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education claiming a school bus had hit a parked car while delivering meals during the pandemic, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled Gov. Roy Cooper’s declaration of a state of emergency outright barred lawsuits against the government for property damage.

Liability caps on individual cases do not protect school districts from repeated lawsuits, prompting some to outsource the risk entirely by contracting out transportation. Transportation contractors are not entitled to government immunity and take the full risk of liability head on.

Related: Florida School Bus Driver Accused of Striking a 12-Year-Old Student
Related: Dismantling Education Department, Mandated Programs Would Need Congressional Approval
Related: Update: Congress Shifts Tide in Regulatory Demands for Clean Energy
Related: Ohio Parents Sue School District After 6-Year-Old Left on Bus for Hours
Related: D.C. Back in Legal Hot Water Over Busing of Students with Disabilities

Although immunity statutes serve to protect public coffers from being drained by lawsuits, the system is not without critics who don’t think the government should be let off the hook.

The system also becomes more complicated when it comes to obtaining insurance and filing claims. Government insurance policies are as varied the U.S. topography, with some insurers covering government entities up to their liability cap and others declining to kick on until after the government has paid out the liability cap.

Some states don’t require government entities to obtain insurance at all, and others choose to self-insure through risk-management offices or use publicly funded insurance programs.

In 1992, Block in Florida represented the family of Megan Tucky, a 7-year-old child with a disability who was strangled by her restraint while riding a school bus home. In the middle of the trial, the parties settled the case for $700,000, which did not need a claims bill to be paid out, since the school district’s insurance policy covered the cost.

In Button’s case, Block said the bus that hit him was covered under a Loyd’s of London policy that declined to cover people injured in vehicles outside of the insured bus, a policy he called grossly inadequate for a school district, throwing his client’s fate into the state claims bill lottery.

“Marcus was 16 years old,” Block said. “This totally changed his life, so he’s definitely deserving of this compensation, and I wish it was for more, but this is all we were able to do.”

The post Florida Man’s School Bus Crash Claim Highlights Limits of Government Immunity appeared first on School Transportation News.

New legislation affecting future school bus safety across Illinois could add pressure to already constrained school transportation budgets.

Senate Bill 191, passed by the Illinois General Assembly last month, requires all new school buses manufactured after July 1, 2031, be equipped with three-point seat belts. The bill does not require school bus drivers or aides to ensure students wear the occupant restraint systems or to provide training on their usage.

The legislation now sits on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk. Under Illinois law, he has 60 calendar days to act. If no action is taken within that time frame, the bill automatically becomes law. This process is outlined in the Illinois Constitution and ensures that a passed bill cannot be blocked through executive inaction—a notable contrast to the federal system.

It is doubtful Pritzker veto the bill and force a three-fifths vote in both chambers to override. It passed unanimously in the House and secure three-times more yes votes than no votes in the Senate.

That is due in part to pushing back the original compliance date three years from Jan. 1, 2028.

Supporters say the measure improves student safety and aligns school buses with modern standards. Critics warn that installing seatbelts will increase costs for school districts already struggling to meet current demand, potentially reducing the number of students they can transport.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says adding three-point seatbelts to school buses can cost between $5,500 and $7,500 per bus depending on size, while other research estimates the cost to exceed $10,000.

Related: Illinois Bill Advances to Require Lap/Shoulder Seatbelts on New School Buses
Related: Updated: NAPT Issues New Position on School Bus Seatbelts
Related: Illinois School Bus Driver Finds Teen Wandering Alone
Related: New Incentives in Place to Keep Illinois School Bus Drivers Working During Holidays

The post School Bus Seatbelt Law Appears Imminent in Illinois appeared first on School Transportation News.

A new requirement for selling electric school buses in New York has school bus dealers there worried about vehicle availability and even higher prices one year before a mandate goes into effect requiring all purchases be zero emissions.

The $254-billion budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year signed into law May 9 includes a much-needed extension to 2029 for school districts demonstrating their hardships with implementing ESBs to begin purchasing only electric school buses. But provision Article 11-C, while good in theory for its intent to provide better range estimates, is short on detail that the dealers association said could lead to unintended consequences.

The three paragraphs call for independent third-party, real-world ESB range testing to be performed starting Jan. 1, 2026, before the zero-emissions vehicles could be sold to in-state school districts and bus companies. Data must be obtained over 10,000 miles operated in extreme weather conditions and over different terrains to gauge battery degradation and resulting range. The law also wants the testing to account for parking  ESBs outside versus inside. It does not specify how the types of chargers used could affect the battery lifecycle.

The New York School Bus Distributors Association (NYSBDA) opposes the provision.

“New York’s school bus dealers are transparent with their customers about the impact extreme weather conditions, terrain, driver operation, and many other factors have on the range of all-electric school buses,” said Peter Tunny, the organization’s executive director. “School districts rely on school bus dealers to partner with them to ensure more than 2.3 million children safely get to school and back home each day and part of that responsibility is to provide the most accurate data available regarding the capabilities of electric school buses.”

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which oversees the state’s zero emission school bus initiative, told School Transportation News last month it is aware such testing exists, available from unnamed firms or testing facilities nationwide. Aside from specific testing centers or procedures, the question that remains to be answered is how, especially with just over six months before the law goes into effect.

One student transporter familiar with the legislative negotiations told STN legislators may have added the range testing requirement to counterbalance the additional year extension granted to school districts.

“If you want that, you are going to have to do this,” the source added.

The intent of the range estimates is to bridge the gap between best-case-scenario figures marketed by OEMs and what student transporters are reporting from their operations. The theory is good, added NYSBDA’s Tunny, but school bus dealers are unaware of any such procedures or facilities to perform such tests.

More questions center on a $1,000 fine, ostensibly on school bus dealers, if the real-world estimates are not provided. No mention is made of how this money will be collected or what it would be used for, such as existing funds for school districts to electrify their fleets. The New York State Attorney General’s office oversees the penalties for violations. A spokesperson had not responded to a request for comment at this writing.

There was also no clarity on if the fine would be tantamount to purchasing a carbon credit. Would it be cheaper for a dealer or OEM to take the $1,000 fine and then proceed with the sale? Would that even be allowed? A source familiar with the legislation but who asked to remain anonymous noted the fine would be “a drop in the bucket” for a $450,000 electric school bus.

NYSBDA is seeking clarification.

“With little information regarding entities which provide independent rate estimates for electric school buses, it is impossible to know if it will make more sense to pay for the testing or the $1,000 fine,” said Tunny, a retired director of transportation for South Colonie Central Schools near Albany. “Unfortunately, at the end of the day, any increasing costs by the state will ultimately be passed on to the school district. It might make more sense with the state to conduct the independent testing by working with New York school transportation stakeholders, and utilizing a state entity, like [NYSERDA] in conjunction with the state education department.

He added that NYSBDA continues to analyze the language of the budget to determine if it would be feasible for OEMs to provide the testing or ship the buses from the factory to a testing site.

“The law should be repealed immediately so the school transportation stakeholders can sit down with Gov. [Kathy] Hochul and the legislature to help craft a law that will actually accomplish their goals without creating another obstacle to selling electric school buses in New York State,” he said.

School bus OEMs are also finally attuned to the matter, albeit they had no answers to the issue yet, either. A Blue Bird spokesman told STN the OEM and its dealers are “monitoring related developments and evaluating appropriate steps.” Meanwhile, a representative of Thomas Built Buses said its dealers were meeting with their lobbyists. At this report, no dealers had asked their OEM partners that more accurate range testing be performed before the school buses ship from the factories.

Related: New York Gov. Hochul Open to Extending Electric School Bus Mandate
Related: Funding, Data and Resiliency Needed for Electric School Bus Success
Related: Update: Future of Electric School Bus Funding Remains Unknown, Warns Expert

There are options for collecting the required data, but they could take time. One scenario could utilize telematics data from ESBs and create statistical models for different road conditions, weather and geography through in-use operations. The EV Watts program provides reliable estimates for over 950 electric passenger vehicles based on kilowatt-hours consumed. It is one the largest public datasets available. A source familiar with the program told STN that a school bus version EV Watts had been planned but its funding was cut.

Still, there are far fewer electric school buses in operation to run similar models. And aside from running models in all different temperatures and road conditions, additional challenges arise in more technology and operational variances such as battery capacity and programming, the impact of different wheelbases and tires on fuel economy, and the effect of using electrical heating compared to fuel-fired heaters, to name a few.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory works with a half-dozen school districts nationwide to provide data for its FleetREDI analyzer. But none of the school districts operate in New York, though NREL is actively looking to recruit additional electric bus fleets, a representative told a panel audience at the ACT Expo in April.

Other nonprofit clean energy consultants could potentially perform or facilitate testing. But first, NYSERDA would need to provide guidance.

“Even so, the timeline could be hard to meet,” another EV consultant added.

The post State Budget Calls for Real-world Range Testing for Electric School Bus Sales appeared first on School Transportation News.

A Colorado school district paid $16.2 million for abuse of a five-year-old student by a bus attendant. Additionally, New York’s electric school bus mandate is nearing and questions persist. Read more in STN’s June issue, out now.

Following the death of an Ohio student near a transit bus stop, safety conversations have reignited. Michael Miller, transportation director for Sycamore Community Schools and president of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation, is joined by Todd Silverthorn, second OAPT vice president and transportation director for Kettering School District. They discuss how legislation and the driver shortage complicate operations and analyze the controversial use of transit buses and vans to provide required transportation to non-public schools.

Read more about safety.

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The post (STN Podcast E260) Beneficial and Safe: Ohio Standouts Talk Safety vs. Reactionary Legislation appeared first on School Transportation News.

The death of Alfred Hale sparked a debate in the community on the lack of safety around downtown transit hubs.

The 18-year-old student of Dunbar High School in Dayton, Ohio was shot and killed in April while waiting for a transit bus to take him to school. For decades, many school districts across the U.S. have relied on public transportation to transport high school students. The practice has only increased especially after COVID-19 due to financial and staff shortages.

Ohio House Bill 96 introduces a budget plan that will allocate more funding to all public schools in FY 2026 and 2027.

“The bill increases overall state support for public schools by $81 million in FY26 and $145 million in FY27 over the executive proposal, for a total of $226 million,” a press release on the bill states. “Additionally, per-pupil funding was increased for every student across Ohio.”

Additionally, the bill would require school districts that provide or arrange for transportation of eligible students in the ninth through twelfth grades to ensure that students are assigned to routes that do not require more than one transfer. Mass transit systems located in one of Ohio’s eight most populous counties would need to ensure that transfers don’t occur at a central hub, like the one where Hale was shot.

HB96 passed the House April 9 and was introduced in the Senate.

Dayton Board of Education President Chrisondra Goodwine disagrees with the bill. She released a statement on the tragedy, stating that the ban on student transfers, “is a reactionary move that fails to address the underlying problems. It restricts student access to education and imposes further barriers on already vulnerable youth—without offering any alternative solutions.”

Goodwine added Hale’s death is not a school issue but a citywide crisis.

“The burden of safety cannot fall on schools alone,” she wrote. “Every sector— education, local government, law enforcement, transportation, and commerce—has a shared responsibility in ensuring that our city is not only livable but truly thriving for everyone.”

She noted recent statements from city elected officials that place blame for the systemic challenges on Dayton Public Schools.

“That narrative is not only misleading—it is harmful,” she stated. “It oversimplifies the issue and ignores the very real legal and financial constraints placed on public school districts across Ohio.”

Instead, Goodwine outlined limitations codified in state law that require transportation is provided not only to Dayton students but also to charter and private school students within district boundaries. Dayton Public Schools lacks the legal authority to prioritize only its students, she continued, as well as adequate staffing and funding to place every child on a yellow school bus.

“Because of these limitations, some students must use public transportation,” Goodwine states. “The Greater Dayton RTA is not an educational partner—it is a public transit system governed by federal rules that ensure equitable access to all. While we do engage where possible to improve safety, DPS has no control over how RTA routes passengers or determines transfer points. These decisions are made solely by RTA based on their operational model and obligations to the general public.”

A citywide commitment to youth by opening recreational facilities, expanding mentorship opportunities, and centering teen-focused investments.

She said if city leaders want to be solution-oriented, they can start by opening doors to recreational centers and buildings that are underutilized or vacant but otherwise available to the district or afterschool partners to serve as “safe, structured environments tailored to teenagers— especially in a city where youth have limited access to activities that are engaging, safe, and empowering.”

“Changing the trajectory for young people requires more than statements—it requires investment in their future,” she added. “At the same time, we call on the State of Ohio to change the laws that continue to create barriers to a better reality for our students. Allow public districts to serve their students first. Fund transportation adequately. And stop penalizing urban districts trying to meet modern-day challenges with outdated policies.”

She is also calling for adequate state funding to support driver recruitment, fleet expansion, and improved routing systems.

Related: Private Transportation Companies Seeing More Opportunities from Charter, Private Schools
Related: STN EXPO West to Feature Routing Seminar
Related: Ohio Student Left on School Bus, Parent Speaks Out
Related: Students Safe After Flames Engulf Ohio School Bus

The Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation issued a formal statement in support of Dayton Public Schools, Goodwine and the broader transportation crisis in Ohio.

“If Ohio’s elected officials are serious about creating lasting change and protecting our children, they must stop blaming overburdened school districts and start providing the legal authority, funding, and infrastructure necessary to meet today’s realities,” OPTA states. “The Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation stands ready to work with lawmakers, school, leaders, and community partners to bring about these much-needed reforms.”

OPTA notes that Hale’s death in Dayon highlights the need for systemic change and multiagency collaboration to ensure student safety.

“It is unacceptable that a student’s route to school becomes a place of violence,” OPTA states. “And it is equally unacceptable to assign blame to school districts without acknowledging the legal and financial realities they face.”

OPTA notes that the law requiring public school districts to transport students not only to and from their assigned schools but also students attending charter and private school extends service up to 30 minutes outside those boundaries.

“This requirement, imposed without proportional funding or flexibility, has pushed many districts to the brink,” OPTA states.

As of last August, Ohio had 18,817 active school bus drivers, a decrease of nearly 7,000 from 2019, OAPT said. Meanwhile. The demand for transportation services continues to rise due to expanding private and charter school mandates, and lawmakers have failed to address any of the root causes..

“Dayton Public Schools is being asked to do more with less, navigating rigid laws and an acute driver shortage while trying to ensure safe passage for students to over 90 locations,” added OAPT. “These proposals are not only short-sighted, they exacerbate the problem by restricting access to education for some of our most vulnerable students.”

OPTA joined Dayton in calling for: Legislative reform that allows public school districts to prioritize transportation for their own students before allocating resources to nonpublic schools; adequate and equitable funding for public school transportation, including driver recruitment incentives, modernized fleets, and safety upgrades; a re-commitment to public education over expanding voucher systems that divert public funds to private interests, undermining Article VI, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution; and, a clear focus on student safety, including reinstating the yellow school bus as the “gold standard” for student transportation and rejecting lower safety alternatives like vans and car services for daily transport.

The post Dayton, Ohio Student Shooting Highlights Need for Systemic Transportation Changes appeared first on School Transportation News.

Illinois lawmakers are advancing legislation that would require all newly purchased school buses in the state to be equipped with lap/shoulder seatbelts. Now entering its third reading in the Senate, the bill marks the state’s latest and most promising step toward aligning with national safety recommendations for student transportation.

If enacted, Illinois would become the seventh state to mandate three-point restraints on school buses, joining Arkansas, California, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, and Texas.

SB191 is sponsored by Sen. Julie A. Morrison with Sen. Mike Simmons (D–Chicago) as co-sponsor. Rep. Bob Morgan has pre-filed companion legislation in the Illinois House.

A second amendment under discussion would change the effective date of the mandate to Jan. 1, 2031, from the original date of Jan. 1, 2028. According to legislation advocates, this adjustment is being considered to address concerns from previous opponents and help move the legislation forward.

It also does not require school districts, private schools, or school bus contractors to require student passenger seatbelt usage and only applies to owned vehicles.

SB191 with the amendment was referred Wednesday to the Senate Transportation Committee.

The effort to draft and promote the bill has been spearheaded in part by Kimberly Loughlin, an Illinois-based curriculum designer and certified child passenger safety technician (CPST) with the additional eight-hour school bus endorsement. She collaborated with the National Safety Council on revising its 2022 revision of Child Passenger Safety on School Buses course for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The seminar taught at the STN EXPO East, STN EXPO West and TSD Conference each year is widely taught as an advanced supplement to the national 32-hour CPST certification course.

Loughlin became involved in legislative advocacy after a series of personal incidents her family encountered while she was rewriting the eight-hour course. Her son was involved in two separate school bus crashes just a month apart while attending summer camp field trips offered through their local park district. While none of the children were seriously injured, her son was thrown forward and struck his head. The buses lacked seatbelts.

Only a few months later, Loughlin and her son were involved in a separate car crash, suffering concussions and lingering injuries. The experiences reshaped her perspective on injury reporting and the long-term effects of non-fatal trauma, especially for children.

Although her local school district contracts with transportation providers that include two-point lap belts, Loughlin observed that children often didn’t wear them, leading to behavior issues and unsafe conditions. When she encouraged the district to implement safer lap-and-shoulder belts and a seatbelt usage policy, she was told ity would not act unless legally required. That led her to connect with Sen. Morrison, who made the effort to advance state-level legislation.

In developing the bill, Loughlin worked with Denise Donaldson, editor and publisher of Safe Ride News, and Charlie Vits, formerly with IMMI/Safeguard, to draft policy language modeled on similar laws in other states. Donaldson is a CPST instructor for the NHTSA course. Dr. Kristin Poland, Deputy Director at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), also collaborated with Loughlin in support of the bill.

The team of advocates credit recent industry developments, such as Blue Bird Corporation’s announcement that lap-and-shoulder belts would be standard on all new buses starting last fall, with shifting the conversation around cost. With one of the major manufacturers standardizing the passenger restraint systems, the economic argument against seatbelt mandates has lost momentum, they claim.

In addition to the NHTSA eight-hour seminar, Donaldson is scheduled to present at this year’s STN EXPO West Conference in Reno, Nevada, on the top 10 safety concerns in school transportation—including the ongoing lack of lap/shoulder seatbelt use.

While school bus compartmentalization can reduce injuries in frontal crashes, it is insufficient in side-impact or rollover events. Decades of data including that from the National Transportation Safety Board on high-profile school bus crashes support the efficacy of lap-and-shoulder belts, which also contribute to improved behavior, reduced driver distraction and more effective emergency evacuations.

“Something so simple as a seatbelt can make all the difference in the world,” Loughlin said. “It shouldn’t take a catastrophic event to realize the importance of protecting kids in this very basic way.”

Related: Updated: NAPT Issues New Position on School Bus Seatbelts
Related: School Bus Safety Act Renews Call for Seatbelts, Other Safety Improvements
Related: Oklahoma Latest State to Introduce School Bus Seatbelt Bill

The post Illinois Bill Advances to Require Lap/Shoulder Seatbelts on New School Buses appeared first on School Transportation News.