Worcester Public Schools officials say student safety remains a top priority as state lawmakers consider new measures aimed at improving school bus safety across Massachusetts.
The Legislature’s Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security is considering a proposal by Sen. Paul Mark, D-Pittsfield, to create a special commission to examine school bus safety standards. The measure is known as Summer’s Law.
“We want to ensure safe and reliable transportation for our students,” said Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Brian E. Allen on the Worcester Public Schools website.
The city has 104 bus routes serving nearly 12,000 students each day. As of August 2024, all bus driver positions were filled, according to the Worcester Public Schools official YouTube channel.
To ensure safety, Worcester Public Schools requires drivers to undergo extensive training, including obtaining a school bus endorsement with air brake certification, as well as passing a Department of Transportation physical examination.
The legislation was inspired by the death of Summer Steele, a Plainfield student who was run over after her backpack became caught in the door of a school bus.
Summer Steele should be planning for her high school graduation. Instead, her mother, Amanda Taylor, told the legislative committee earlier this month that it is time to improve the safety of school buses across the commonwealth.
The then-9-year-old Plainfield resident was run over after her backpack got caught in the door of a school bus. The driver was sentenced to one year in jail after agreeing to plead guilty to negligent motor vehicle homicide.
“What should have been one of the safest parts of her days, ended up being a tragedy,” Taylor told the Legislature’s Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. “Simple sensor technology exists to stop bus doors from closing on children.”
Taylor said the accident could have been prevented with technology “widely available from manufacturers. Other states have made this law happen. If it can happen there, why can’t it happen here in Massachusetts.”
Some states that have implemented similar measures are New Jersey and Maine. New Jersey law requires every school bus to be equipped with “a sensor system to determine the presence of a person(s) or object(s) in the side areas of the school bus.”
In Maine, Gov. Janet T. Mills announced that funding would be included in the state budget for “anti-pinch door sensors.” She also signed an executive order creating a commission similar to the one proposed in this bill.
The proposed legislation would update existing school bus safety standards. The commission would “assess and recommend updates to the school bus safety standards.”
The committee’s priorities would include incorporating safety sensors, adding additional school bus monitors and enhancing operator training.
The committee is charged with filing recommendations to the House and Senate no later than Dec. 1. This would include any draft legislation needed to put the recommendations into effect.
