SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 2456
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JUNE 24, 2026
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2456.
As amended, the bill requires school bus drivers and school bus aides on a school bus to call the 911 emergency telephone service for assistance in the event of a potential life-threatening emergency on the school bus. A school bus driver and aide are required to report the call to the Department of Education. Under the bill, a board of education, or a school bus contractor providing pupil transportation services under contract with a board of education, that employs a school bus driver or aide, as well as the department, will maintain a record of the calls.
A board of education, or a school bus contractor, as applicable, is required to ensure that training related to the requirement to call the 911 emergency telephone service for assistance in the event of a potential life-threatening emergency on the school bus is provided to school bus drivers and school bus aides. A board of education or school bus contractor that does not provide training on this matter will be subject to applicable penalties established under current law.
Current law requires an employer to administer a safety education program, including a program that provides training on defensive driving techniques and railroad crossing procedures, to school bus drivers and school bus aides twice per calendar year. The bill requires an employer to also provide training on interacting with students with disabilities twice per calendar year following the initial administration of the program as outlined in the bill.
Under the bill, an employer would require a school bus driver or aide to file a certification that the individual has completed the training program. The bill additionally requires these certifications to be forwarded to the Department of Education as specified in the bill.
The bill provides that the parent or guardian of a student who believes that a school bus driver or school bus aide did not properly call the 911 emergency telephone service in the event of a potential life-threatening emergency may file a complaint with the Department of Education.
A school bus driver or school bus aide who is accused of violating the provisions concerning 911 emergency notification and follow-up reporting requirements will have notice and an opportunity for a hearing concerning the alleged violation. The bill specifies that a school bus driver or school bus aide is entitled to representation by a union representative or legal counsel provided by a union. A school bus driver or school bus aide who is found by the department to have violated these provisions will be liable for certain civil penalties. If the employer did not provide the proper training, the school bus driver or school bus aide cannot be penalized with loss of employment.
The bill also requires a school bus that transports one or more students with disabilities with special transportation requirements to be equipped with: (1) a video camera on the interior of the school bus to monitor student safety while the students are being transported; (2) a global positioning system that provides information about the location and speed of each school bus in real time; and (3) two-way communications equipment, which may include a cellular or other wireless telephone. Under the bill, any video footage collected from a video camera and any data collected from a global positioning system will be retained for not less than 180 days from the date it was recorded.
The bill requires each in-terminal school bus inspection conducted by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJ MVC) to provide for the inspection of the equipment required to be installed on school buses pursuant to the bill.
The bill permits, subject to the availability of funds, a board of education and a contractor providing pupil transportation services under contract with a board of education that is required to install equipment on a school bus pursuant to the bill to apply to the NJ MVC for funds, in a manner to be determined by the Chief Administrator, to be used to purchase and install the equipment.
The bill appropriates from the General Fund to the NJ MVC such sums that are necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill requiring installation of equipment on a school bus.
For the provisions of the bill concerning the installation of equipment on school buses and the in-terminal school bus inspections, the bill defines “students with disabilities with special transportation requirements” to mean a student with a disability who is identified pursuant to the school funding law as needing special transportation requirements.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amended the bill to:
(1) replace references to school bus personnel to specifically identify that certain provisions apply to school bus drivers and school bus aides;
(2) expand on the training requirements for school bus drivers and school bus aides to include training on understanding behaviors or other signs that may indicate circumstances in which a potential life-threatening emergency is occurring on a school bus;
(3) require school bus drivers and school bus aides to file a certification with their employer that the individual has completed the safety education program;
(4) provide that a school bus driver or school bus aide, who is accused of violating the requirements to call 911, is entitled to notice, an opportunity for a hearing, and to be represented by a union representative or legal counsel provided by the union;
(5) clarify that if an employer did not provide the proper training, the school bus driver or school bus aide cannot be penalized with loss of employment;
(6) modify the civil penalty amounts a school bus driver or school bus aide would be liable for if found to have violated the provisions of the bill requiring the school bus driver or aide to call 911 in a potential life-threatening emergency; and
(7) make technical changes related to certain rulemaking provisions of the bill.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the bill’s primary fiscal impact is to increase State costs associated with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission providing funds to school districts and school bus contractors for the purchase and installation of school bus equipment required under the bill. The bill includes an open-ended appropriation providing amounts as needed for the bill’s purposes.
Local school district expenditures will increase as a result of the bill, but those cost increases will be covered by State funds provided by the commission, as authorized by the bill.
The Department of Education may experience an indeterminate increase in administrative costs to implement various training requirements for school bus personnel, maintain records related to certain training requirements and 911 calls made by school bus personnel, and develop a process for the investigation of complaints from the parents or guardians of students with disabilities who believe that school bus personnel members did not comply with proper procedures for calling 911 in the event of a potential life-threatening emergency on a school bus.
The bill may also result in an indeterminate increase in costs to the commission to the extent that additional resources are needed to inspect certain school buses for proper installation of the equipment required by the bill. Any costs, however, will at least be partially offset by school bus inspections fees that are currently collected by the commission.
Finally, the bill may result in an indeterminate, likely minor revenue gains for the State due to provisions of the bill that levy certain fines on boards of education and school bus contractors and certain civil penalties on school bus personnel members.