SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Senate Bill 546 requires all Texas school districts to install three-point seatbelts on buses. However, many districts have buses both with and without this requirement, and the state is not paying for the upgrades.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother mandate without funding,\u201d said Tesilia Soliz, Northside Independent School District director of transportation. \u201cIt\u2019s an overwhelming, daunting request because our fleet is so large.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soliz agrees with the need for safety enhancements, but said the difficulty lies in the feasibility of retrofitting hundreds of buses and funding the project by September 2029.<\/p>\n
Bill Harrison, Northeast ISD executive director of transportation, echoed a similar sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely needed because it\u2019s all about safety to me,\u201d Harrison. \u201cThis is stemming off of two years ago, a tragic accident up in Hayes County where a young child was killed when the bus rolled over.\u201d<\/p>\n
The author and sponsor\u2019s statement of intent<\/a> to push SB 546 forward reflects on the deadly 2024 crash.<\/p>\n \u201cIn March 2024, a fatal motor vehicle accident involving a Hays CISD school bus and concrete pump truck resulted in the deaths of Ulises Rodriguez Montoya, a pre-K student on the school bus, and Ryan Wallace, a doctoral student at The University of Texas, prompting an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB),\u201d the statement reads in part.<\/p>\n