New Caney ISD faces $11M cost to meet new Texas school bus seat belt law

On May 11, New Caney ISD’s board of trustees opted to request an exemption to a new state law requiring three-point seat belts on school buses that would cost the district almost $11 million to comply with.

Current situation

Senate Bill 546 requires public school districts to add three-point seat belts to all school buses by Sept. 1, 2029, according to a May 11 presentation from Transportation Director Danny Mealer. NCISD has about 95 buses that would either need to be retrofitted or replaced in order to comply with the new law, which could cost the district:

• $3.825 million total—or $30,000-$70,000 per general education bus and $30,000-$45,000 per special education bus—for retrofitting
• $12.45 million total—or $130,000-$175,000 per general education bus and $150,000 per special education bus—to replace buses

Mealer proposed a hybrid plan that would cost the district $10.98 million total and would involve phasing out older buses, purchasing 20 new buses per year and retrofitting 11 buses per year, according to the presentation.

“Every year that we wait to initiate a plan ... the cost goes up,” Mealer said.

The discussion