A year after the Ohio School Bus Working Group issued its final recommendations on school bus safety, a bill introduced in the state House seeks to increase fines of illegally passing motorists and to create a safety fund that would award school districts grants for updating their fleets with safety features.
The Ohio School Bus Working Group, called by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine following the August 2024 ejection and death of 11-year-old Aidan Clark after his school bus was struck by an oncoming truck, issued final recommendations after five months of in-person meetings.
Two recommendations are specifically addressed in the new bill. The first is, “The Ohio Department of Public Safety should work with the Ohio General Assembly to strengthen penalties for drivers who violate traffic laws in school zones and around school buses.”
The Ohio School Bus Safety Act (HB3), introduced on Jan. 23, would increase the penalties for drivers passing a stopped school bus. The bill states that anyone found guilty of passing a stopped school bus would be issued an unclassified misdemeanor and could receive a fine of no less than $250 and no more than $1,000. Repeat offenders will face greater fines and would need to attend a school bus safety course.
The second recommendation addressed is, “The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce should work with the Ohio General Assembly to develop and fund a grant program to help school districts invest in school bus safety features such as, but not limited to, seatbelts. The grant program should be needs-based.”
School Bus Safety Features Included in the Ohio School Bus Safety Act:
– External school bus cameras
– Crossing arms
– Lane departure warning systems
– Electronic stability control
– Lighted crossover mirrors
– Colorado rack test-approved bus frames
– Fully illuminated stop arms located at the front and rear of a school bus
– Fully illuminated “school bus” signs
– Collision avoidance systems
– All light-emitting diode lights
– Ground wash lights
– Reflective chevron
– Occupant restraining devices that conform to the school bus seat belt requirements
– Additional safety features that become available through advancements in technology and that are approved by the department of public safety and the department of education and workforce.
The school bus safety fund would consist of “money appropriated to it by the general assembly and the criminal fines collected for violations,” the bill states, adding that the fund would be used to make grants available to school districts to improve safety features on school buses, as well as to be used to support the department of education and workforce and the department of public safety in educating the public regarding the laws around school buses.
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The bill adds that grants would be awarded to eligible applicants for the purchase and installation of school bus safety features. School districts would be able to purchase and install school bus safety features to replace old, broken or outdated safety futures, and to purchase additional school bus safety options when specifying new school bus orders.
The legislation adds that the director of education and workforce at the Ohio Department of Education would be tasked with establishing procedures and requirements necessary to administer the grant, including procedures and requirements regarding the grant applicants and grant award processes and amounts. Grant awardees would need to spend the funds within two years after they were distributed.
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