House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

School buses are designed with certain safety features including the bright yellow color, the flashing lights, stop signs and signal arms. These features, and the safety entrusted to bus drivers, are helpful but do have limitations where video monitoring systems would be able to help.

Internal cameras can provide protection for students and peace of mind for parents by decreasing and even deterring incidences of bullying and other inappropriate behavior between students or, although rare, drivers and students. External, or outward facing, cameras can protect students by helping to identify motorists who illegally pass buses or drive erratically or dangerously. Both systems can aid school districts and law enforcement with evidence when incidents are reported.

As such, my legislation would provide these safeguards to our students by requiring all school buses to include a video monitoring system that will at a minimum include an internal camera positioned so that every seat can be seen and an internal camera positioned outward so that the road ahead can be seen.

Our children spend countless hours traveling on busses each year. We owe it to them, their parents, drivers and the schools to make that commute as safe as possible. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my Harrisburg office at 717-705-1925.