The overview
The video cameras will be installed on the outside of buses to record vehicles and drivers passing school buses when the “Stop” sign arm is deployed and the red lights are flashing.
Only 294 out of 555 AISD school buses had cameras installed, as of Jan. 30. The new initiative will install cameras on all 555 buses, which includes all general and special education buses.
The board of trustees voted unanimously during a meeting on Jan. 30 to approve a new contract with technology company BusPatrol for installation of the video cameras on school buses.
The background
During the 2023-24 academic school year, there were over 9,100 illegal passing violations issued to drivers, and over 6,100 violations were paid. In the 2024-25 academic year so far, there have been over 3,100 violations with 1,500 paid, according to agenda documents.
The fine for passing a stop arm depends on if the person was caught on camera or in person. Those with on-camera offenses are fined $300, per city of Austin ordinance, passed in 2015. If caught in person by an officer, a person can be fined anywhere from $500 to $1,250. Repeat offenders may have their driver's licenses suspended for up to six months, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The number of violations “has not decreased much, but repeated violators are minimal” following installation of cameras on the 294 buses, district officials said in response to submitted questions by board member Candace Hunter.
During the board meeting, Hunter said that she hopes to see pending violations taken care of.
“The rest of y’all need to pay your money,” she said. “That money is not as much as it would cost on your conscience if you had harmed a child. If you see that arm, you stop.”
Hunter also said she hopes drivers and community members do their part to keep students safe.
“Our children have enough to worry about,” she said during the board meeting. “We train them for shooters, we train them for tornadoes—do we have to train them on the bus to be safe from our community members? I don’t think so. I know we can do better.”
One more thing
Criminal citations issued by AISD police and Austin police officers on patrol will be processed through the Austin Municipal Court.
For civil citations, AISD officials will set up a separate process in which district police can issue citations based on recorded video evidence obtained through the stop arm camera systems. This means video-based civil citations can only be issued by licensed police officers employed by AISD.
The district will be responsible for administering citations, collecting fines, holding administrative hearings for appealed cases and overall final approval and denial of violations. BusPatrol officials will be responsible for other necessary paperwork, such as mailing citations, with no cost to the district, officials said.
The initiative to install cameras will be funded by general funds and the student transportation budget, according to agenda documents. The fees generated from enforcement and issuing violation fees will be used to cover costs for the initiative, including legal services, police officer overtime and the stop arm system lease. The program will operate on a “budget-neutral” level or will generate revenue that exceeds its expenses, in line with the district’s goal to reduce their budget deficit, officials said.
