Bill Text: NJ S3114 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Task Force on Safety in School Transportation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-07-23 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S3114 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S3114-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DAWN MARIE ADDIEGO
District 8 (Atlantic, Burlington and Camden)
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Task Force on Safety in School Transportation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the Task Force on Safety in School Transportation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established the Task Force on Safety in School Transportation. The task force shall consist of 17 members, including the Commissioner of Education, ex officio, or a designee; the Commissioner of Transportation, ex officio, or a designee; the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, ex officio, or a designee; the Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety, ex officio, or a designee; and 13 members to be appointed by the Governor, including: one school district transportation coordinator; one representative of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, one representative of the New Jersey Education Association, one representative of the New Jersey School Boards Association, one representative of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, one representative of the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials; one representative of the New Jersey School Bus Contractors Association; one representative of the School Transportation Supervisors of New Jersey; three parents or guardians of students including at least one parent of a student receiving special education services; one public member who shall have knowledge and expertise in ensuring safety in school transportation; and one public member who shall be an expert on the safety equipment available in school transportation vehicles.
b. It shall be the duty of the task force to study issues associated with student safety in school transportation. The task force shall:
(1) review existing State laws, regulations, and programs that address school bus safety, and make recommendations for their improvement, including any recommendations necessary to ensure that the pedestrian safety record is routinely reviewed by an appropriate State office;
(2) examine the possibility of requiring a State department or office to conduct a biannual review of all aspects of school bus safety and to issue recommendations for additional action or oversight, as appropriate;
(3) review whether the recommendations of the Transportation Task Force of the Commission on Business Efficiency of the Public Schools, included in the 2006 report "Finding the Road: Selected Issues in New Jersey Pupil Transportation," have been implemented, and identify any barriers to their full implementation;
(4) develop a plan to phase in any school bus safety measures recommended by the task force through retrofitting and prospective vehicle purchases, and identify the potential application of vehicle sensor technology to improve school bus safety;
(5) identify best practices for the designation of school bus stops;
(6) identify strategies that support safe pedestrian behavior by students between their homes and their bus stops, including as they board and exit the bus;
(7) identify safety protocols to be followed by school bus drivers and school bus aides, including safeguards to ensure that protocols are followed when a substitute driver or school bus aide is assigned to a school bus;
(8) develop recommendations to curb illegal passing of school buses; and
(9) identify if there is a need for more public education programs that promote school bus safety.
c. All appointments to the task force shall be made within 30 days after the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. The members of the task force shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed, within the limits of funds made available to the task force, for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
d. The task force shall organize as soon as is practical upon the appointment of a majority of its members. The task force shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member. The task force shall select a chair from among its members.
2. The Department of Education shall provide staff and related support services to the task force. The task force shall also be entitled to call upon the services of any State, county, or municipal department, board, commission or agency, as may be available to it for these purposes, and to incur such traveling and other miscellaneous expenses as it may deem necessary for the proper execution of its duties and as may be within the limit of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for these purposes. The task force may meet and hold hearings at such places as it shall designate during the sessions or recesses of the Legislature.
3. The task force shall present a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), no later than 12 months after its organization and shall cease to exist upon submitting its report and recommendations to the Governor.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Task Force on Safety in School Transportation. Under the bill, the task force is charged with studying issues associated with student safety in school transportation. Specifically, the task force will:
(1) review existing State laws, regulations, and programs that address school bus safety and make recommendations for their improvement, including any recommendations necessary to ensure that the pedestrian safety record is routinely reviewed by an appropriate State office;
(2) examine the possibility of requiring a State department or office to conduct a biannual review of all aspects of school bus safety and to issue recommendations for additional action or oversight, as appropriate;
(3) review whether the recommendations of the Transportation Task Force of the Commission on Business Efficiency of the Public Schools, included in the 2006 report "Finding the Road: Selected Issues in New Jersey Pupil Transportation," have been implemented, and identify any barriers to their full implementation;
(4) develop a plan to phase in any safety measures recommended by the task force through retrofitting and prospective vehicle purchases and identify the potential application of vehicle sensor technology to improve school bus safety;
(5) identify best practices for the designation of school bus stops;
(6) identify strategies that support safe pedestrian behavior by students between their homes and their bus stops;
(7) identify safety protocols to be followed by school bus drivers and school bus aides;
(8) develop recommendations to curb illegal passing of school buses; and
(9) identify if there is a need for more public education programs that promote school bus safety.
The task force will consist of 17 members, including the Commissioner of Education, ex officio, or a designee; the Commissioner of Transportation, ex officio, or a designee; the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, ex officio, or a designee; the Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety, ex officio, or a designee; and 13 members to be appointed by the Governor. The task force must present a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature no later than 12 months after its organization and will cease to exist upon submitting its report.
Edmond Bock IV, a first grade student at Atco Elementary School, was tragically struck by a school bus and killed on January 6, 2014. The sponsor seeks to improve safety in student transportation through this bill and other legislation.
