Senator Balboni and his Senate colleagues recently unveiled a comprehensive package of bills aimed at improving school bus safety and protecting children from abandonment and injury in school buses.

The legislation was proposed by the Senate Task Force on school bus safety which conducted hearings and public forums across New York state to solicit information and advice from parents, educators, and school bus operators, and to identify priority areas for legislative action.

"Getting children to school and back home safely at the end of the day is one of the fundamental responsibilities of our educational system," said Balboni, member of the School Bus Safety Task Force, and the Senate Committee on Children & Families. "There are 50,000 school buses carrying 2.2 million children on New York's roadways every school day. Parents who entrust their children's lives to school bus drivers deserve the peace of mind and confidence that the buses are safe and that drivers are qualified and conscientious."

The bills contained in the Senate's school bus safety package would:

* Require a study on whether seatbelt use should be mandatory (S.1238 - Trunzo).

This bill would require the governor's Traffic Safety Committee to study the effects of mandating seatbelt use on school buses and to compare New York school districts that mandate use compared to those that do not. This bill will require the committee to make a recommendation to the governor and the Legislature by Dec. 1.

* Require school bus drivers to check for stranded students (S.2377 - Skelos). Currently there is no law in New York state for school bus drivers to check that the bus is empty before they park and exit the bus. This bill would require that each bus driver follow a standard procedure to check for students before getting off the bus.

* Require criminal checks for all school bus attendants (S.2376 - Fuschillo). This bill would strengthen the qualification procedures for school bus attendants and would require fingerprinting and a criminal history check. The background check procedure would be the same one currently in place for school bus drivers.

* Mandate a refresher course for all school bus drivers (S.760 - Trunzo). This bill would require every school bus driver in the state to complete two hours of continuing instruction in school bus safety practices at least twice a year.

* Subject all bus drivers to the same standards (S.2373 - Bruno). This bill would expand current driver qualifications to apply to all drivers who are employed for school transportation purposes, regardless of the size of the bus.

* Make it a crime to enter or remain on a bus for no reason or without authority (S.204 - Volker). Under the provisions of this bill, individuals would not be allowed to enter school buses and disrupt the safety of the bus with verbal or physical abuse or in any other way jeopardize the safety of students, teachers or drivers.

* Prohibit an individual whose license is suspended for a conviction of DWI or for driving under the influence of drugs from driving a school bus (S.704 - Goodman). Currently, when an individual is convicted for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he is forbidden by the courts from driving his own car, but not a school bus. This bill would not allow these individuals to drive school buses.

* Require mandatory revocation of a school bus driver's license for drivers who have tested positive on a random drug or alcohol test (S.2372 - Bruno). This bill would permanently disqualify school bus drivers who have tested positive for drug or alcohol use from ever driving a school bus.

* Require school bus drivers involved in accidents where students are injured to submit to a breath test (S.870 - McGee). Under the provisions of this bill, each time a school bus transporting pupils is involved in an accident, and there is a death or a serious physical injury, the drivers of all vehicles involved in the accident are required to submit to a breath test administered by a police officer.

* Prohibit school bus drivers from letting students exit a bus on a divided highway (S.2210 - Johnson). This bill would prohibit the receiving or discharging of passengers by a school bus on a divided highway having four or more lanes and a speed limit of 50 mph or greater.

* Require one statutory definition of "school" and "school bus" (S.779 - Trunzo.) This bill would require DOT, DMV and SED to develop a uniform definition of "school bus" to eradicate inconsistencies in current law which led to confusion regarding equipment and bus driver standards.

Last year two school bus safety bills were enacted into law: legislation that prohibits children from standing on school buses, and a measure to increase fines for bus companies that fail to comply with laws relating to school bus driver qualifications.

In addition to the legislative package, Balboni said the Task Force will look into what can be done to attract and retain bus drivers to address the shortage of school bus drivers experienced by many school districts.