Sponsors
The bill would substantially improve student safety on school buses through mandatory advanced safety features and federal grants to help pay for upgrades, but it imposes large upfront and operational costs on manufacturers, districts, and taxpayers and creates implementation and equity risks.
Students and school-bus passengers will receive substantially better crash and fire protection because buses must include 3‑point seat belts at every position, automatic emergency braking, electronic stability control, engine fire suppression, stricter interior flammability standards, and event data recorders—reducing injuries and improving survivability.
Low‑income and cash‑strapped school districts and LEAs can access federal subgrants to cover purchases and retrofits, enabling fleet replacements/upgrades they otherwise could not afford and improving equity in school‑transportation safety.
Communities and families may face lower long‑term medical and liability costs because increased occupant restraint use and safety technologies should reduce crash injuries and emergency incidents.
Taxpayers, school districts, and bus purchasers face substantial upfront and ongoing costs because manufacturers must install or retrofit 3‑point belts, AEB, ESC, EDRs, fire suppression, and meet stricter flammability standards—raising bus prices and procurement/retrofit expenses.
Local districts and bus operators will incur operational burdens—downtime for retrofits, extra maintenance, and new training to operate and maintain detection and alert systems—disrupting schedules and diverting staff time and funds.
Federal taxpayers bear open‑ended spending risk because the grant program is authorized as “such sums as are necessary,” increasing budgetary uncertainty and potential fiscal exposure without a defined cap.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 4, 2025 by Tammy Duckworth · Last progress March 4, 2025
Requires new federal safety rules for school buses including 3‑point seat belts at every designated seating position, automatic emergency braking, event data recorders, electronic stability control, stronger interior flammability limits, fire suppression/firewall requirements, and more operator behind‑the‑wheel training. DOT agencies must complete multiple rulemakings within tight deadlines, study and require motion‑activated exterior detection systems and belt‑use alert systems, and set up a federal grant program to help school districts buy or retrofit buses. The law sets short deadlines (many rulemakings within 1 year and studies within 2 years), applies new standards to buses manufactured or imported on or after one year after DOT issues rules, and authorizes federal grants ("such sums as are necessary") to assist local educational agencies with purchasing or modifying buses to meet the new standards.