A New Standard for Every Bus

Senate Bill 546 passed during the 89th Texas Legislature in 2025. The law requires a three point seat belt for every passenger on a school bus. That requirement includes the driver.

The bill was authored by State Sen. José Menéndez of San Antonio. It followed a March 2024 crash involving a Hays CISD school bus and a concrete pump truck. Two people died in that wreck and the National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation.

Older buses no longer get a pass. The previous standard applied only to buses of model year 2018 or later. Senate Bill 546 removed that exception and applied the rule to the entire fleet.

The Crandall ISD Estimate

Scott Stewart serves as the district’s executive director of transportation and school planning. He presented the seat belt item to trustees at the regular March board meeting. He placed the estimated financial impact at $1,034,956.50.

The district also reported that the Texas Education Agency would gather compliance data through its Sentinel reporting tool. Every Texas district faced a May 29 deadline to submit fleet counts and cost figures. Crandall ISD has not publicly released the bus by bus breakdown behind its own number.

Replace or Retrofit

The law leaves districts two paths for each bus that falls short. Some buses can be retrofitted with new seats and new belts. Others are too old to accept a retrofit and must be replaced outright.

That distinction drives the final bill. Districts across North Texas have reported sharply different totals for the two approaches. Plano ISD estimated about $16 million to replace its noncompliant buses and $6.6 million to retrofit them instead.

Allen ISD reported a similar gap. That district estimated $20.1 million for replacement and $3.5 million for retrofitting. Officials in both districts noted that retrofitting an aging bus rarely makes financial sense when the vehicle is already near retirement.

Crandall ISD has not stated publicly how many of its buses fall into each group. The law requires districts claiming a budget exemption to disclose three specific counts. Those are buses with no seat belts, buses with two point belts and buses already equipped with three point belts.

How the District Could Pay

The Legislature attached no money to Senate Bill 546. Superintendents across Texas have described it as a textbook unfunded mandate. Districts must cover the cost locally or locate another source.

The statute does allow school districts to accept gifts, grants and donations toward compliance. Districts elsewhere have tapped unspent bond authority and state emissions reduction grants. Others are spreading purchases across several budget years to soften the hit.

Crandall ISD has not announced a funding approach for the seat belt work. The district is currently managing a heavy construction cycle. Trustees were told in December that voters have authorized $365 million in bonds and that about $140 million had been issued at that point.

A Deadline Before the Deadline

The May reporting requirement was designed to produce a statewide price tag. TEA must calculate what full compliance would cost every district in Texas. The agency must deliver those findings to the governor and the lieutenant governor and the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2027.

Many district leaders are counting on that report. They hope the total pushes lawmakers to create a funding stream. The timeline leaves room for legislative action well before buses must be compliant in 2029.

What Families Should Watch

Nothing changes on Crandall ISD routes at the moment. Buses currently in service remain legal until the September 2029 deadline arrives. Riders and drivers will see no immediate difference this school year.

The issue will resurface as trustees build future budgets. Board agendas and transportation reports are the places to watch. Any bus purchase or retrofit contract would require board approval before work could begin.

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