College Station ISD is preparing to retrofit 19 existing school buses with three-point seat belts to comply with a new school safety law that took effect Sept. 1, Josh Symank, assistant superintendent of operations and human resources, said during a presentation to the board of trustees at a Feb. 17 workshop.
No action is taken during a workshop meeting.
The new state law, Senate Bill 546—which was approved during the 89th legislative session in 2025—is estimated to cost the district an additional $570,000. This is in addition to the cost of 30 new buses the district will purchase in the next two years to replace buses approaching their 15-year lifespan, Symank said.
The gist
SB 546 mandates the installation of three-point seat belts on all school buses in Texas; school districts have until Sept. 1, 2029, to fully comply with the new law, Symank said. However, school districts must submit a plan to the Texas Education Agency by May 29 outlining their current seat belt status and estimated compliance costs, according to the presentation.
As the state law mandates compliance without any additional funding for districts, Symank said there is not currently money in CSISD’s budget to meet this mandate; however, state officials have said there will be grant funds to help with the cost.
While the district is using bond funds to purchase new buses to replace old buses, bond funds can not be used to retrofit the necessary buses, Symank said.
“Every one of the buses of the 19 that would need the three-point seatbelts, they’re older, so if you’re going to invest bond money in something for safety or that effect, it has to have a shelf life of longer than 10 years,” he said.
By the numbers
CSISD has 120 total buses in its fleet, between general education and special education buses, and runs 71 routes daily, Symank said.
From the existing fleet:
- 49 buses do not have three-point seat belts installed
- 30 of these will need to be replaced in the next two years as they approach their 15-year lifespan
- 19 buses must be retrofitted with three-point seat belts
Retrofitting costs about $30,000 per bus, Symank said.
Looking ahead
Symank said the purchase of 13 general education buses will be brought before the board of trustees for approval in March, and the district will need to purchase an additional 13 general education buses and four special education buses next year. This will account for the 30 buses aging out of the fleet; all new buses come with three-point seatbelts installed, he said.
In other news
During the board’s regular meeting Feb. 17, over $1.7 million in facility upgrades were unanimously approved in the consent agenda. No discussion took place on the items.
According to the agenda items, purchases are funded through the 2021, 2023 and 2024 bond programs and include:
- $535,400: purchase and installation of classroom furniture for Rock Prairie Elementary
- $480,000: equipment and installation for the new career and technical education welding and agricultural mechanics program
- $268,700: furniture and installation for the new CTE cosmetology program
- $215,300: weight equipment for additional weight rooms at College Station High School and A&M Consolidated High School, along with more weight equipment at A&M Consolidated High School’s upgraded fieldhouse
- $192,000: equipment for the new CTE facility automotive program
- $26,000: equipment and installation for the new CTE construction program
In a 4-3 vote, the board also approved updates to board operating procedures, including additional clarification around board member visits to school campuses. The updated procedure reads: “Board members must notify the superintendent of visits to campuses when they are not attending a scheduled activity. The superintendent shall schedule the visit with the campus and attend the visit with the board member.”
