Strengthening school bus safety

Meade County bus driver and state FRED Award winner, Regina Decker, in her bus last school year.

Meade County State Representative Nancy Tate released the following statement in regar to shcool bus safety:

"As summer winds down, families across the Commonwealth are preparing for the start of a new school year. For students, this means meeting new teachers, learning new class schedules, and, for many, getting back into the routine of riding the bus.

Each school day, thousands of school buses activate stop arms and flashing lights as they pick up and drop off students. These measures are designed to keep students safe by alerting drivers to stop.

Despite this, lawmakers continue to hear from school bus drivers, parents, and law enforcement about the alarming number of drivers who illegally pass school buses with deployed stop arms each day. Far too often, we’re reading stories, seeing videos on social media, or witnessing drivers ignoring the law and putting our students at risk.

That is why the General Assembly passed House Bill 7, a school bus safety bill, during the 2026 Regular Session. The goal of the legislation is simple: to keep students safe by reducing the number of illegal school bus passing incidents statewide and holding more drivers accountable. 

One way HB 7 aims to improve school bus safety is by requiring more vehicles to stop. Now, a driver must stop for a school or church bus with an activated stop arm and signal lights unless a roadway has four or more lanes divided by an elevated barrier or unpaved median. 

HB 7 also takes steps to make it easier for school districts and law enforcement to hold drivers who fail to obey the law accountable.

Under the new law, school districts that choose to participate may contract with a private vendor or manufacturer and equip their buses with camera monitoring systems to help document stop arm camera violations. Importantly, buses equipped with these systems must display a warning sign notifying drivers and can only record while a stop arm is deployed. Recorded images must also be reviewed by law enforcement to verify that a violation took place before a notice is issued.

If law enforcement determines that no violation took place, the recorded images produced must be destroyed within 31 days of being captured. If a violation is confirmed, the owner of the vehicle will receive a notice in the mail within 30 days of the violation, which will include information like the date and time of the violation, location of the violation, civil penalty amount, and payment deadline. The vehicle owner will also receive a copy of the recorded images for the stop arm camera violation and a signed, sworn statement from a law enforcement officer verifying the violation.

Verified violations will result in a civil penalty of $300 to the vehicle owner for the first offense and $500 for each subsequent offense within a three-year period, with generated revenue retained by the school district operating the camera monitoring system. No points will be assessed against the driving record of the owner or operator of the vehicle in violation, and vehicle owners who believe they were wrongly cited can contest the violation in district court.

For those who fail to pay or contest the civil penalty within 60 days, the law enforcement agency or officer can notify the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) of nonpayment. KYTC will then send a notice of suspension and suspend the registration of the motor vehicle until the civil penalty is paid.

At its heart, this bill is all about prevention and keeping students boarding and exiting school buses safe. While no legislation can completely eliminate these stop arm violations from happening, HB 7 gives school districts and law enforcement another tool to improve school bus safety while increasing accountability for drivers who fail to follow the law. If we can prevent one tragedy or injury from occurring or make one driver pay more attention, HB 7 will have served its purpose.

So, as we enter a new school year, please remember to pay attention, slow down, and watch for school buses. Together, we can all do our part to strengthen school bus safety across the Commonwealth."