Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Holzapfel, Singer and Ruiz
SYNOPSIS
Directs Commissioner of Education to study safety of school bus passengers in certain emergency situations, including school bus accidents.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Transportation Committee on July 26, 2018, with amendments.
An Act concerning the study of school bus passenger safety.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Superintendent of the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and the Director of the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, shall study 1:1 the safety of school bus passengers involved in emergency situations, including, but not limited to, school bus accidents, such as head-on, rear-end, and side-impact collisions, and situations where the school bus may roll over 1; safety technologies, including, but not limited to, speed restrictors, automatic braking, electronic stability control, and event data recorders, that are available in newly manufactured school buses or may be installed in school buses after manufacture; and the qualifications for school bus drivers, including, but not limited to, age, physical fitness requirements, and necessary experience1. The study shall include an evaluation of the statutory and regulatory requirements relating to school bus safety 1, the oversight of school bus operations, including, but not limited to, maintenance of vehicles, school bus drivers qualifications, and audits of school districts and contractors,1 and the current policies, plans, and procedures implemented by school districts.
b. Within 120 days of the effective date of this act, the commissioner shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature summarizing the study’s findings and making recommendations to improve the safety of school bus passengers.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.