ABC27.com reports that an investigation the news station launched into the safety of the state’s school bus is resulting in the Pennsylvania State Police voluntarily releasing data that shows how many school buses are inspected, and how many of those received initial failing grades.
After being denied access several times, ABC27 said the State Police agreed to release school bus inspection information after the newspaper compiled research on different states that make the data publicly available.
“Any information a parent can have to help make sure their child is safe is important,” said Tammy Barrett a parent of a student rider in Cumberland County. “You can’t say no to that.”
The station said it will take weeks for the data to be compiled before it can be reported publicly.
ABC27 said it originally filed a right-to-know request in January 2015 with the State Police, which denied the petition. An appeal to the state’s Office of Open Records was to no avail. But ABC27 learned that while state law allows agencies to withhold records of noncriminal investigations, including school bus inspections, there is nothing written that prevents agencies from releasing documents.
