Pearland ISD officials determine district will not meet new bus requirements by 2029

Pearland ISD trustees approved a resolution on Dec. 9 stating the district does not have the financial capacity to retrofit or replace all buses required for full compliance with Senate Bill 546 by the September 2029 deadline.

The background

Senate Bill 546, passed in June, requires all school buses operated by Texas districts to provide three-point seatbelts for every rider by Sept 1, 2029.

The state did not provide funding for the requirement, but districts may accept gifts, grants and donations to support implementation, according to state documents.

The overview

As of Dec. 1, PISD operates 188 buses:

• 62 compliant with SB 546
• 126 non-compliant, including:
  • 99 regular-education buses with no seatbelts
  • 27 special-needs buses with lap belts

At the current replacement rate of 12 buses per year, full compliance would take approximately 11 years, according to district documents.

Cost to the district

The board of trustees reviewed replacement and retrofit options based on a purchase price of $150,000 per bus and a retrofit cost of $35,000 per bus.

The options reviewed include:

• Hybrid: Continue replacing 12 buses per year and retrofit remaining eligible buses
• Accelerated Replacement: Replace most or all non-compliant buses lacking seatbelts
• Heavy Retrofit: Retrofit all eligible buses and minimize bus replacements

The district’s proposed plan would reach full compliance over six years by replacing 12 buses and retrofitting 10 buses each year, for a total of 22 bus improvements annually.

The proposed plan is based on existing district funding, without additional state funding or reallocation of resources, according to district documents.

What's next

The district must submit detailed inventory, cost estimates and the board resolution to the Texas Education Agency by the end of the 2025-26 school year.

TEA will compile district submissions, report findings to the Legislature and identify potential statewide funding needs no later than Jan. 1, 2027, according to state documents.