Kadyn’s Law was unanimously passed by Iowa’s House of Representatives yesterday, and the governor said he will sign it into law tomorrow.
Gov. Terry Branstad will sign the legislation at 11 a.m. Friday at Northwood-Kensett Elementary, the school attended by Kadyn Halverson, for whom the law is named. The 7-year-old girl died after being struck by a motorist while attempting to board a school bus at her Kensett home in May 2011.
Her family and friends gathered in the Iowa House this morning to watch as legislators approved a school bus safety measure designed to prevent similar tragedies from occurring. On March 1 the Iowa Senate also passed the bill unanimously.
Under the proposed law, failure to slow for a bus with flashing lights or to halt when the stop-arm is extended will result in fines up to $675 and 30 days in jail (the current fine is $200), and penalties increase with further violations. Inflicting serious injury carries a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum 90-day license suspension, with penalties doubling in the case of a fatality.
Additionally, the law will require a study on the effectiveness of stop-arm surveillance cameras to document illegal passers of school buses and a study to consider same-side pickup and drop-off of students on all roads. Current Iowa regulations only require same-side stops on streets or roads of at least two lanes going the same direction.
“It will certainly enhance the safety of students here in Iowa,” said Max Christenson, school transportation consultant for the Department of Education (DOE) and president-elect of NASDPTS. “However, the law is not the only thing – we need to better educate our motoring public so they know what to do when they come upon a stopped school bus. There is a real need for education.”
To that end, the amended bill states that the study will include a stronger emphasis on school bus safety in driver training curriculum. Christenson said the DOE is working with the Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety to increase everyone’s awareness of motor vehicle laws and safe driving behaviors around school buses.
“We’re going to work hand in hand in developing new programs and ways to get our message out to the general public,” said Christenson, who is also president-elect of NASDPTS.
On the Kadyn’s law website, recommended additions to the law include “questions on the driver’s license exam pertaining to school stop-arm rules.” Another recommendation is to add school bus safety curriculum for K–3 students.
The man who hit Kadyn Halverson was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pled guilty to vehicular homicide.
