Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto on Tuesday introduced legislation aiming to improve the safety of students who ride the bus to school.
The Safe Bus Routes to School Act — introduced alongside Republican Indiana Sen. Todd Young — would allow federal funds to be used on the planning, design and construction of infrastructure projects for school bus riders. This includes projects to improve sidewalks, traffic calming, pedestrian crossings and bus stop waiting areas, according to the bill.
The legislation also includes a provision to use federal money on activities that encourage safe school bus ridership, such as student sessions on school bus safety rules.
“Clark County has the largest school bus fleet in the entire country, and 130,000 kids rely on those buses to get from home to school and back again every day,” Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said in a press release. “It’s our responsibility to make sure our students are as safe as possible. This commonsense bill would open up more funding for cities and towns across the country to make school bus routes safer.”
Cortez Masto’s legislation would expand the types of projects eligible to receive federal dollars through the Safe Routes to School program, which was established in 2005. Currently, the law permits the program’s funds to only be used on activities and infrastructure-related projects that better students’ ability to walk or bike to school safely.
In a statement, Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert expressed approval of the bill.
“Our community has seen a huge increase in the number of students hit by vehicles on their way to or from school,” Ebert said. “By expanding the Safe Routes to School Program, we can better educate our students and our community about the importance of following the rules of the road so that all students can travel to and from school safely.”
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
