Clear Creek ISD board of trustees discussed preliminary information on the district's school bus fleet at its May 4 workshop session to determine whether it can comply with a new state requirement for three-point seatbelts on all buses.
Under Senate Bill 546, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, buses operated by Texas districts must be equipped with three-point seat belts for every rider by Sept. 1, 2029.
Cost to the district
The district operates a fleet of 300 buses. Of those, 144 non-compliant buses would require retrofitting under SB 546, at an estimated cost of over $5.3 million, according to district documents.
District officials noted that retrofitting older buses is not recommended due to limited remaining service life.
Additionally, the bus manufacturers and vendors would not provide warranties for buses with retrofitted seatbelt systems and would not assume responsibility for failures or safety issues due to the modifications, according to district documents.
Also of note
District officials recommended continuing the district’s 12-year bus replacement cycle as a more cost-effective strategy aligned with existing planning, according to district documents.
Under the plan, 97 buses currently qualify for replacement. In May, the district plans to order 30 buses, which will be presented to the board at its May meeting for funding approval through the 2023 bond, said Paul Miller, CCISD’s assistant superintendent of support services.
The district plans to replace the remaining 67 buses by 2029. However, even after those replacements, 47 buses without three-point seatbelts would still remain.
In a longer-range replacement plan, the district plans to purchase buses annually to gradually reduce the full 144 noncompliant buses, with full replacement targeted by 2032.
What they’re saying
The board discussed the limitations of the mandate, particularly the added responsibility placed on bus drivers to ensure students are properly buckled.
Since 2021, all new bus purchases have included three-point seatbelts. Miller noted that drivers make announcements at the start of each route, and buses include signage reminding students to use the seatbelts.
“It’s with the best of intentions, but can it be done with fidelity?” board President Jonathan Cottrell said at the workshop. “For the drivers to have that responsibility at every stop ... to make sure that everyone is buckled, it’s a priority but it's a challenge to make sure it's done correctly.”
Trustee Arturo Sanchez added that while student safety remains a priority, retrofitting may not be the most efficient use of funds if buses are already nearing planned replacement timelines.
“We feel pretty strongly about not taking the [$5.3 million] and investing it into buses that we’ve already identified would be replaced by 2032,” Miller said at the workshop.
What’s next
The board of trustees will consider the district’s ability to comply with the mandate at its regular May 18 meeting.
If the board determines the district is unable to comply, it must report fleet data and cost estimates to the Texas Education Agency by May 29, according to district documents.
