4-26-07

Some Florida lawmakers are hoping a family’s tragedy will inspire school districts to do a better job of making sure students get on and off the bus safely every day. They’re debating a bill that would require every school board to have a plan to improve the safety at school bus stops, but time is running out for the bill which supporters believe could save children’s lives.

About a million students ride a bus to school each day, but there’s no requirement that school districts have any kind of formal safety plan for school bus stops.

That’s a concern for Jenny Mock, a mother of five who lives in a rural county.

“Our county’s so spread out and some kids live 30 miles from the school itself out on some dirt road, so obviously their bus stop’s going to be remote.”

Urban areas have school bus stop concerns too, including heavier traffic. The most recent school bus safety report in Florida shows nearly 5,000 school bus accidents over a five-year period.

More than 50 children were injured and six children died. Four of the six kids killed in that survey were fatally injured while getting on or off the bus.

A recent tragedy inspired Representative Hugh Gibson to file a bill that would make every school district put a school bus safety plan in place by July.

“We had a child in Lake County who was killed at a bus stop that I think was maybe poorly lighted and it wasn’t in the best place for a school bus.”

Gibson says mandatory school bus stop safety plans are a no-brainer, and his bill is poised for passage in the House, but with just days to go and no movement in the Senate, parents may have to wait another year for safer bus stops.

The school bus stop safety bill (HB 643/SB 428) is scheduled for a final vote today or tomorrow in the House (House scheduled to go until 8 tonight), but is not up for consideration in the Senate. The legislative session ends next Friday.