You asked:

1. Do any other states have laws requiring seat belts on school buses?

2. Are there estimates of what it would cost to equip the Connecticut school bus fleet with seat belts?

3. Do any states require human monitors on school buses?

4. Is it possible to estimate the cost of requiring monitors on all school buses in Connecticut?

5. Have there been any recent proposals to require seat belts or monitors in Connecticut?

SUMMARY

Currently, five states have laws requiring seat belts on school buses providing student transportation, but in two of them, the requirements are not effective until 2004 or 2005. Some of the mandates apply only to newly purchased, not existing school buses.

It is difficult to accurately estimate costs for requiring seat belts on the Connecticut fleet of large (Type I) school buses because of the possible variables. Costs would differ depending on (1) whether the mandate covered all existing buses or only newly purchased ones, (2) whether it involves only lap belts or "three-point" (lap-shoulder) belt systems, and (3) the number of seating positions in each bus subject to the mandate. Type I school buses typically have between 60 and 71 seating positions. General estimates for installing lap-only belts in new vehicles calculate to about $ 25 per seating position. A recent evaluation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated the likely cost of installing three-point, lap-shoulder belt combinations in new buses at between $ 40 and $ 50 per seating position. There are about 5,500 Type I school buses registered in Connecticut.

School bus monitors appear to be more a matter of local school district transportation policies than legislative mandates. We found only one state, Rhode Island, with a law requiring monitors, but only on buses transporting children in grades K-5. Our search was not exhaustive however. North Carolina has a law that allows school superintendents to appoint volunteer unpaid school bus monitors but it is permissive not mandatory. The North Carolina law also provides school administrators with the authority to hire paid bus safety assistants within available funds.

The only estimate of the cost of mandating bus monitors on Connecticut school buses appears to be from a 1992 legislative proposal. The fiscal note for this bill (SB 263) states that if all school districts used paid bus monitors, the total costs could exceed $ 15 million annually.

Bills mandating seat belts in school buses were introduced in 1989, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001. Bills relating to requiring school bus monitors were introduced in 1991, 1992, and 1993.

SEAT BELTS

Seat Belt Laws

Five states-New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Louisiana-have laws mandating installation of seat belts on all school buses statewide. New York was the first state to require seat belts in school buses, but its law does not have a provision requiring occupants to wear them. New Jersey was the second state to pass a law. It requires all buses to be equipped with lap belts for each seating position and requires each passenger to wear a properly adjusted and fastened lap belt. The law has no penalty provision and it states that the bus owner or operator is not liable for failure to properly adjust and fasten a belt when a passenger sustains an injury as a direct result of his failure to comply with the use requirement (NJSA § 39: 3B-10, -11).

The other three states all passed their laws in 1999. Florida requires only new buses purchased after December 31, 2000 to be equipped with safety belts "or with any other restraint system approved by the Federal Government... . " Passengers in belt-equipped buses are required to have them properly fastened and adjusted when the bus in operating. The law indemnifies the state, county, school district, bus operator, and any teacher or volunteer serving as a chaperone in any action for personal injury sustained by a passenger not wearing a safety belt (Fla. Stat. § 316. 6145).

Louisiana requires all buses used primarily for transporting students to be equipped with "occupant restraint systems" by June 30, 2004. The implementation date for the requirement was set based on the state's intention to wait for the results of a congressionally mandated study of school bus occupant protection systems before any state requirement became effective.

California's law originally required three-point (lap-shoulder belt) restraints in all school buses manufactured after January 1, 2002 and used in the state. However, the legislature has since postponed the target date for large school buses until July 1, 2005 and for small buses until July 1, 2004. One of the stated reasons for the postponement (which occurred in 2001) was to await the results of the federal study (Vehicle Code, § 27361).

Belt Installation Costs

It is difficult to accurately estimate the costs of installing seat belts on all large school buses because of the variables involved. Costs depend on factors such as whether requirements would apply to only newly purchased buses or all buses. Optimal installation costs occur during initial bus fabrication while retrofitting existing buses is more costly. Costs also can vary depending on the mandated restraint system (lap vs. lap-shoulder belts). One widely circulated generalization for installation of lap-only belts at all seating positions on a large (60-71 passenger) school bus is approximately $ 1,600 per bus.

In its recent report to Congress, NHTSA concluded that requiring lap-only belts on large school buses would have little, if any, benefit in reducing serious-to-fatal injury in severe frontal crashes and, in rare instances, could increase risk of serious neck or abdominal injuries to young passengers. NHTSA also stated that if lap-shoulder belt combinations are properly used, they could provide some benefit on both large and small school buses. But if misused by children (the shoulder belt is placed behind the child or placed improperly), serious neck or abdominal injury could result. NHTSA estimates that if all school buses in the United States were equipped with lap-shoulder belt combinations and a usage rate of 100% was assumed with no misuse, lap-shoulder belts could save one passenger's life a year.

However, the lap-shoulder belt combination is both more expensive to install and has other consequences. NHTSA estimates that a lap-shoulder belt unit adds between $ 40 and $ 50 per seating position to the cost of a new vehicle. Since it requires a minimum of 15 inches of seat space compared to 13 inches for a lap-only belt, it could reduce school bus capacity by up to 17%. This reduced seating capacity could have certain other effects, such as the need for school districts to use additional buses to transport current students or changes in transportation policy based on service costs that might result in fewer children receiving school bus transportation.

Although an exact number is not immediately available, there appear to be approximately 5,500 large (Type I-over 10,000 pounds) currently registered in Connecticut. The cost for any seat belt mandate would depend on the actual number of buses and how many seating positions this includes. It also depends on whether all buses would have to be retrofitted with belts or the belt requirement would apply only to new vehicles purchased after a certain date. As mentioned above, the typical Type I bus has between 60 and 71 seating positions.

SCHOOL BUS MONITORS

The use of school bus monitors, adults other than the driver who ride in school buses, appears to be largely a matter of individual school district policy throughout most of the United States. Although we were unable to conduct an exhaustive check of each state's laws, we were able to find only one state, Rhode Island, with a state law that requires monitors on all school buses. However, this requirement applies only to buses carrying elementary (K-5) students.

The monitors must be at least age 16 and have to be provided on all school bound or home bound trips unless the education commissioner grants a variance from the requirement based on a finding that an alternative plan provides substantially equivalent safety for the children (G. L. R. I. § 16-21-1).

North Carolina also has a school bus monitor law, but it is permissive rather than mandatory. It allows any school superintendent to appoint a monitor for any school bus. Monitors must be unpaid volunteers. However, the law also allows a local board of education, within available funds, to employ "transportation safety assistants" upon recommendation of a school principal acting through the superintendent. These safety assistants must assist bus drivers with safety, movement, management and care of children boarding, leaving or being transported on the bus. They must be either an adult or a certified student driver who is available as a substitute driver (Gen Stat. § 115C-245).

The cost for requiring school bus monitors would depend on the amount such monitors would be paid, whether they would be required on all runs or only those involving younger children, and other factors. We are aware of only one cost estimate for such a proposal. In 1992, SB 263, requiring a safety monitor on every bus transporting children in grades K-5 reached the Senate calendar. The fiscal note accompanying the bill (File 197) stated that the potential costs could not be specifically quantified because the bill allowed for either paid or volunteer monitors. However, it stated that if all school districts used paid monitors the total cost "could exceed $ 15 million. " We do not know what assumptions the Office of Fiscal Analysis used for this assessment.

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS FOR SCHOOL BUS SEAT BELTS AND MONITORS

Since 1989, bills relating to requiring seat belts on all school buses have been significantly more numerous than bills relating to school bus monitors. Seat belt bills were introduced in 1989 (HB 5168, SB 445); 1993 (HB 5473); 1996 (SB 581); 1997 (HB 5975, HB 5669, SB 100, SB 119); 1998 (SB 331); 1999 (HB 5417, SB 86, SB 177, SB 1199); and 2001 (HB 5719, HB 6581, SB 957, SB 958, SB 959).

Bills relating to requiring school bus monitors were introduced in 1991 (SB 400); 1992 (SB 263), and 1993 (SB 405, SB 791).

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