Lawmakers mull seat belts on school buses; districts question funding

JACKSON, Tenn. — State lawmakers consider requiring seat belts on Tennessee school buses, but some districts said they are concerned where the money would come from.

Cora Wright, a grandparent, said she likes the idea of seat belts on school buses. “There’s been a lot of accidents on these school buses lately,” she said.

The proposal requires all school buses ordered or purchased on or after July 1, 2018, be fitted with seat belts. Districts would have until July 1, 2023, to equip the entire fleet.

“I’m in favor of all safety pieces,” Jackson-Madison County School System Director of Transportation Keith Woods said.

Woods said the district currently has 158 buses total. He said 29 of those are special needs buses with seat belts and the rest do not have them. “It would be a big expense undertaking to retrofit,” he said.

Woods said a school bus with air conditioning and no seat belts costs the district about $90,000.

The proposal is expected to cost school districts millions of dollars. Woods said he is not sure how much it would cost the Jackson-Madison County School System to install seat belts on the current fleet.

“Districts and the state are going to have to get together and come up with a way to fund these type things,” Woods said.

Despite the cost, parents said they support it. “It’s safety for our kids,” Ashley Stewart, a parent, said.

“We’ll get a ticket if we don’t have our seat belts on,” Wright said.

Woods said another concern is staffing. Would they have to hire another person to make sure students wear seat belts? What happens if the child will not wear his or her seat belt?

The House Transportation Subcommittee advanced the measure on a voice vote Wednesday. It is expected to come up again next week.