Loopholes found after laws passed

School bus safety reforms barely scratched surface

By: Colleen Wilson
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... State Senator Joseph :agamna if Paramus remembers the day - May 17, 2018 - swerved across traffic and hit a dump truck as he attempted to make an illegal U-turn on Route 800.
..... Lagana's children attended East Brook Middle School and had friends on that bus. He remembers the chaotic scene at the school as parents rushed to find their children and get more information about how a school bus on its way to a field trip wound up turned over on Route 80, leaving 10-year-old Miranda Vargas and teacher Jennifer Williamson-Kennedy dead and 43 other injured.
..... "I received a call from one of my best friends ... his son was on the bus and suffered a concussion. he was at S. Charles Hospital. He called me, you know, a couple days after the accident and said, 'You need to do something, and make sure that these school buses have proper seat belts,' " Lagana said.
..... Democrats Lagana and Assembly Chris Tullyof Bergenfield set to work crafting new legislation. Within a year of the crash, eight bills were signed into law. These measures were aimed at specific issues and short-comings from the Paramus crash that some believe could have prevented some of the injuries and possible fatalities
..... The efforts only scratched the surface.
..... The lawmakers pushed through mandatory three-point seat belts. They ensured that the agencies in charge of vetting bus drivers - the motor Vehicle Commission and the Department of Education - were in communications with each other when a license is suspended.
..... They also made sure the agencies were informed when required physicals were not performed, and they tightened the license suspension laws when a bus driver accumulates points and moving violations on their records.
..... "That's why this legislation is so important, because it spurred a wider conversation: what more we can be doing to protect our students," Tully said. "It also made drivers, we required twice-annual training, we increased medical exams, so we want good drivers on the road."
..... Another bill was designed to gather more information and study how other states have improved driver regulations and bus modifications over the years.
..... However, the group charged with conducting the research has not yet formed, more than a year and half after the bill passed.
..... Meanwhile, larger, and arguably more dangerous, issues plague the school bus driver industry in New Jersey where districts pay an estimated $1.5 billion for transportation, including both private and salaries.
...... The lawmakers were unaware of a looming problem that left children in danger on school buses across the state.
.... One crucial area not addressed with the new laws: the problem of some private school bus companies that have long track records of poor practices, failed inspections and sanctions from the Motor Vehicle Commission, and how they evade consequences by creating new company names.
.... An investigation by he USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey found that loopholes in state laws allow an untold number of bus drivers with dangerous driving histories and criminal records to get behind the wheels of school buses.
..... The depth of these issues was also unknown to the key agencies, the Motor Vehicle Commission and the sate Department of Education, until reporters made this a focus, reviewing thousands of pages of records, and linking the same companies and people to some of the most egregious incidents involving school bus drivers.
.... These private bus companies rarely face serious penalties, due to infrequent surprise, inspections, communication gaps between the Motor Vehicle Commission and the Department of Education and toothless enforcement by what one official called a "spider web" of agencies. And when bus companies do face serious charges, these operators will simply form a new LLC and continue winning taxpayer-funded contracts.

NEWS TO LEGISLATORS:

..... When asked why this wasn't tackled as part of the package of bills passed after the Paramus bus crash, Lagana said he wasn't aware of those problems.
..... "When the bus accident happened, and we started talking to different agencies, all those stakeholders involved to come up with the right regulations at the time, we focused on things that were kind of obvious, I think, at that point and we were able to get them through rather quickly," Lagana said.
..... "We knew that maybe they weren't being so through in hiring people, and we tried to make things a little more stringent when it came on that end. But to get to the specific issue of the business operation and what they're doing to avoid responsibilities - that really was unknown to us."
..... State Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, both Democrats, weren't available for comment. Christina Lee, a spokeswoman for Governor Phil Murphy, said the previous legislation "closed loopholes," and the governor will "continue to prioritize important school bus safety reforms."
..... Lagana said that after hearing about those issues, his team reached out to the Motor Vehicle Commission about it and said they are now looking into what can be done through regulatory changes or changes in the law to address it. he also plans to bring in the Office of the Attorney General to address any criminal wrongdoing.
..... "This is more of a complicated issue, because it is something that happens, but it's also something that the bad actors are really good at violating," Lagana said. "Many times, you change one law, they'll figure out a way around it; you change another it. So, I think that we really need to kind of sit down and examine exactly what they're doing to get around it, and what they're doing to get around it, and how we would make it more difficult."
..... Here is an overview of the bills passed by the sate Legislature in the year after the Paramus bus crash:

VISIBLE BUS IDENTIFYING INFORMATION: School buses must have signs on the vehicle that provide a telephone number, website or other "identifying information" so individuals can report a bus driver's misconduct. Regulations also have to be adapted that identify consequences and appropriate responses to reported bus driver misconduct,created by the education commissioner, the chief administrator of the sate Motor Vehicle Commission and the superintendent for the state police. Effective July 1, 2019.

ADDITIONAL BUS DIRVER TRAINING: Twice per year, all bus drives, substitute bus drivers and bus aides must undergo training that includes student management and discipline, accident and emergency procedures, conducting emergency exit drills, loading and unloading procedures, bus stop zone safety checking to make sure no students are left on board and safety driving techniques when at rail crossings.

MORE STRIGENT HEALTH CEHCK REQUIREMENTS: A license to drive a school bus can be granted only if the individual is at least 18 years old, has passed an exam, and has at least three years of driving experience and a medical certificate. Those age 70 and older must annually provide proof of a medical examination to their employer, and those 75 or older must do so every six months. This went into effect immediately.

INCREASED COMMUNICAITON BETWEEN AGENICES OVERSEEING BUS DRIVERS: The Motor Vehicle Commission chief administrator must suspend a school bus endorsement for 90 days after the date of the most recent conviction if the indications in a three-year period or has six or more penalty points while operating a commercial or noncommercial vehicle. within a day of that suspension, the chief administrator must notify the education commissioner. Within a day, the education commissioner must notify the bus driver's employer - be it a school district or private carrier - that the individual was suspended, The employer then has a day to confirm to the education commissioner that the individual is not driving. Effective August 1, 2019.

REQUIREMENT TO MEET OR EXCED FEDERAL BUS SAFETY REGULATIONS: This mandates that the state of New Jersey comply with federal regulations required for school bus operations, or exceed those requirements. For example, New Jersey school bus drivers must have a minimum of three years' driving experience. If federal law required five years, then the sate would have to adhere to that rule.

REQUIRED SEAT BENTS ON SCHOOL BUSES: All school buses that are a minimum of 28 inches in height and have three-point seat belts that go across the lap and shoulders diagonally. this applied after this bill was approved.

COMMISSIONED STUDY FOR MROE SCHOOL BUSE AND DRIVER SAFETY PRACITICES: A study will be conducted by either a research institution or a joint group that includes the education commissioners. State Police superintendent, director of highway traffic safety, chief administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission and director of the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. The research will focus on the safety of school bus passengers in emergency incidents, bus passengers in emergency incidents, including how the vehicle technology works, event data recorders, qualifications of school bus drivers, audits of school bus contractors and school districts. Within 120 days of the study's completion, a summary of the findings and recommendations for changes should be sent to the Legislature and governor. The study will be paid for with $250,000 from the Department of Education general fund. This went into effect July 1, 2019.

ADMINISTRATOR TRAINING: Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, school district transportation supervisors with less than 11 years' experience in the position must complete the School Transportation Supervisors Certification Program that is offered by the Center for Government Services at Rutgers university. A current transportation supervisor with less than 11 years' experience must complete the program within four years of the enactment of this legislation. The same goes for someone hired after enactment.

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