I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1994 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to review laws relating to the 

illegal passing of schoolbuses, execute a public safety messaging campaign 

related to illegal passing of schoolbuses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2021 

Mrs. WALORSKI (for herself, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. DELGADO, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. LONG, Mr. KATKO, Mr. 

KIND, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, and Mr. SIRES) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Education and 

Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to review laws 

relating to the illegal passing of schoolbuses, execute 

a public safety messaging campaign related to illegal 

passing of schoolbuses, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop for School Buses 

5 Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ILLEGAL PASSING OF SCHOOLBUSES. 

2 (a) REVIEW OF ILLEGAL PASSING LAWS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

5 Transportation shall— 

6 (A) prepare a compilation of illegal passing 

7 laws in all States, including levels of enforce8 ment and penalties and enforcement issues with 

9 such laws and the impact of such laws on illegal 

10 passing of schoolbuses in each State; 

11 (B) review existing State laws that may in12 hibit effective schoolbus loading zone counter13 measures, which may include laws requiring 

14 camera visibility of a driver’s face for enforce15 ment action, laws that may reduce stop-arm 

16 camera effectiveness, the need for an officer to 

17 witness the event for enforcement, and the lack 

18 of primary enforcement for texting and driving; 

19 (C) evaluate methods used by States to re20 view, document, and report to law enforcement 

21 schoolbus stop-arm violations; and 

22 (D) following the completion of the com23 pilation, issue recommendations on best prac24 tices on the most effective approaches to ad25 dress illegal passing of schoolbuses. 


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1 (2) PUBLICATION.—The compilation and rec2 ommendations prepared under paragraph (1) shall 

3 be made publicly available on the website of the De4 partment of Transportation. 

5 (b) PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date on which the Secretary makes the compila8 tion and recommendations under subsection (a)(2) 

9 publicly available, the Secretary shall create and exe10 cute a public safety messaging campaign for dis11 tribution to States, divisions of motor vehicles, 

12 schools, and other public outlets to highlight the 

13 dangers of the illegal passing of schoolbuses, and 

14 should include educating students and the public on 

15 safe loading and unloading of schoolbuses. 

16 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con17 sult with public and private schoolbus industry rep18 resentatives and States in developing the campaign 

19 materials. 

20 (3) UPDATE.—The Secretary shall periodically 

21 update such materials. 

22 (c) REVIEW OF TECHNOLOGIES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

25 shall review and evaluate the effectiveness of various 


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1 technologies to enhance schoolbus safety, including 

2 cameras, audible warning systems, enhanced light3 ing, and other technological solutions. 

4 (2) CONTENT.—The review under paragraph 

5 (1)— 

6 (A) shall include an evaluation of the costs 

7 of new equipment and the potential impact on 

8 overall schoolbus ridership; 

9 (B) shall include an evaluation of advanced 

10 technologies surrounding loading zone safety; 

11 (C) shall include an evaluation of motion12 activated detection systems that are capable 

13 of— 

14 (i) detecting pedestrians, bicyclists, 

15 and other road users located near the exte16 rior of the schoolbus; and 

17 (ii) alerting the operator of the school18 bus of the road users described in clause 

19 (i); 

20 (D) shall include an evaluation of school21 bus lighting systems, to ensure clear commu22 nication to surrounding drivers on their appro23 priate action; and 

24 (E) may include other technological solu25 tions that enhance schoolbus safety. 


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1 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con2 sult with manufacturers of schoolbus vehicles, manu3 facturers of various technologies, and school bus in4 dustry representatives in conducting the review 

5 under paragraph (1). 

6 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

7 the findings of the review under paragraph (1) pub8 licly available on the website of the Department. 

9 (d) REVIEW OF DRIVER EDUCATION MATERIALS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 (A) review driver education materials 

14 across all States to determine whether and how 

15 illegal passing of schoolbuses is addressed in 

16 driver education materials, manuals, non-com17 mercial driver’s license testing, and road tests; 

18 and 

19 (B) make recommendations on how States 

20 can improve education about illegal passing of 

21 schoolbuses, particularly with new drivers. 

22 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con23 sult with schoolbus industry representatives, States, 

24 motor vehicle administrators, and other appropriate 


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1 motor vehicle experts in the preparation of the re2 view under paragraph (1). 

3 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

4 the findings of the review under paragraph (1) pub5 licly available on the website of the Department. 

6 (e) REVIEW OF OTHER SAFETY ISSUES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 shall— 

10 (A) research the connections between ille11 gal passing of schoolbuses and other safety 

12 issues, including distracted driving, morning 

13 darkness, poor visibility, illumination and reach 

14 of vehicle headlights, speed limits, and school15 bus stop locations in rural areas; and 

16 (B) create a report containing the findings. 

17 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

18 the report created under paragraph (1)(B) publicly 

19 available on the website of the Department. 

Æ 


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