Bipartisan School Bus Seat Belt Safety Bill Introduced in the House

The bipartisan Secure Every Child Under the Right Equipment Standards – or the SECURES Act – has been formally introduced in the House of Representatives and is cosponsored by Congressmembers Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Elise Stefanik (NY-21) and Tom Reed (NY-23).

The SECURES Act requires seat belts on all school buses, makes three-point lap-and-shoulder seat belts the national standard, and encourages innovative measures to ensure students actually wear their seat belts while on school buses.

“In the aftermath of the tragic bus crash in Paramus last year, New Jersey, under the leadership of Senators Lagana and Sarlo, Assemblyman Tully, and Assemblywoman Swain, improved our state standards to require three-point seat belts to help protect our children. But we need to bring this nationwide in a bipartisan way.” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “The lap belt is a relic of the past. Like any parent would, I want to ensure all of our children, regardless of where they live, are as safe as possible on our school buses.”

“The data is clear: Seat belts save the lives of people we care about,” said Congressman Tom Reed (NY-23). “Why wouldn’t we require every school bus to have them installed? This is only fair for the parents of millions of school age children who worry daily about their child’s safety every day as they head off to school.”

Read an overview of the legislation here.

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