Senator Booker Introduces Legislation Mandating Seat Belts on All New School Buses Nationwide

Private transportation companies that contract with schools to provide bus services would be required to enroll in the national employer notification service. This creates a new compliance requirement and likely an annual per-driver fee, but it also protects these businesses from the liability risk of unknowingly employing a driver with a suspended or revoked license.

This bill aims to make school bus transportation safer by ensuring that employers are immediately alerted when a bus driver's license is suspended, revoked, or flagged for violations. Students riding school buses would benefit from a system that catches dangerous drivers before they get behind the wheel, rather than waiting for an annual background check.

By catching license suspensions and violations in real time instead of once a year, this system could reduce accidents involving commercial drivers — particularly school bus drivers. Fewer accidents means fewer workers' compensation claims related to driving incidents, benefiting both employees and the system overall.