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119-s-828119th CongressWALLET

School Bus Safety Act of 2025

Sponsored By: Senator Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]

Introduced

Summary

Require advanced safety equipment on school buses. This bill would direct the Department of Transportation to issue rules that make school buses include three-point safety belts at every designated seat and a package of protections such as fire suppression, a firewall, stronger interior flammability and smoke standards, automatic emergency braking, event data recorders, and electronic stability control. It would also require at least eight hours of behind-the-wheel training for school bus operators, add rulemaking on obstructive sleep apnea evaluations for safety-sensitive personnel, fund studies on motion-activated detection and seat-belt alert systems, and establish a federal grant program to help local educational agencies buy or retrofit buses.

Show full summary
  • Families and students: Would see safer rides through mandatory three-point belts and stronger fire and braking protections on buses students use every day.
  • School bus operators and safety staff: Would face new training requirements of at least eight hours and new medical evaluation rules for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.
  • Local educational agencies and States: Would be eligible for grants to purchase buses with these features or to modify existing buses to meet the new standards.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Crash-avoidance and detection tech

This bill would require the Secretary to issue final rules, within one year, to equip school buses with automatic emergency braking, event data recorders, and electronic stability control. The bill defines which braking and recorder systems qualify. It would also require a study, due within two years, on motion-activated systems that detect pedestrians and bicyclists, and would direct the agency to write rules within one year after the study if warranted.

Seat belts and grants for buses

This bill would require final rules within one year to put 3-point seat belts on school buses over 10,000 pounds. The bill would fund a federal grant program for States to help school districts buy or retrofit buses with those belts or other safety gear. The Secretary must set up the program within one year. The bill would also require a study, due within two years, on systems that alert drivers when a passenger is not belted.

Stronger fire rules for buses

This bill would require the Secretary to issue rules within one year to strengthen fire protection on school buses. Rules must cover engine fire suppression and firewalls that stop gas or flame from reaching passengers. The bill would also raise interior flammability and smoke standards to be no less strict than certain airplane and passenger car standards. The new fire rules would apply to buses made or imported on or after the rules' effective dates.

Which buses rules cover and when

This bill would make the new safety standards apply to buses manufactured in, or imported into, the United States starting one year after the Secretary issues the required rules. The bill would also use the existing federal definition of "schoolbus" in federal law to decide which vehicles the rules cover. That timing gives manufacturers and importers a set transition period before compliance is required.

Driver training and medical rules

This bill would require not less than eight hours of behind-the-wheel instruction for school bus operators, on public roads, taught by an instructor with a commercial license and bus endorsement. The Secretary must issue that rule within one year. The bill would also require agencies to finish rulemaking, within one year, on evaluating safety-sensitive workers for obstructive sleep apnea. That medical rulemaking could change screening and fitness-for-duty checks for drivers.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]

IL • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA]

    GA • D

    Sponsored 7/13/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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