House education committee clears bill letting districts use vans, cars for small student trips

The House Committee on Education voted to send House Bill 3‑96 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation after sponsors and witnesses debated safety, cost and existing funding inequities.

Representative Dan Garner introduced the bill as a simplification and modernization of student‑transportation funding and definitions, saying the measure “allows districts and charters to use vehicles other than the yellow school buses when transporting students” to create options and potential cost savings.

State Department of Education financial officer Gideon Tolman told the committee the bill is intended to align statutes with current practice and does not change which entity has transportation authority. “It does not make a change,” Tolman said, adding the language simply reflects how districts and charters already operate.

Safety advocates and several district representatives urged caution. Brent Carpenter of Brown Bus Company, who said he has more than 33 years of student‑transportation experience, opposed the bill on safety grounds. “The yellow school bus is a purpose built vehicle and the safest mode of transportation for school children,” Carpenter testified, urging the committee to prioritize safety over convenience.

Lynette Dow, representing the Boise School District, also urged a no vote and called for reform of the transportation funding formula rather than allowing non‑conforming vehicles. She provided a cost example showing a Ford Transit passenger van purchase price and a type‑A school bus price, and argued that depreciation and lifecycle cost make non‑conforming vans not the savings their proponents claim.

Supporters said the bill offers districts local discretion to select the safest and most appropriate vehicle for small groups or special trips and can help rural and small districts with limited bus fleets. Representative Garner said districts already use smaller “short buses” and the bill simply widens options to include seat‑belted vehicles such as SUVs and minivans.

Committee members discussed tradeoffs between compartmentalization on large school buses and seat belts in smaller vehicles; members noted a lack of head‑to‑head crash‑test data comparing large yellow school buses to non‑conforming vehicles. Representative Tanner said he was leaning against the bill because of safety concerns and absence of comparative testing. Other members, including Representative Sauter and Representative Hart, supported giving local boards discretion, and some members said modernizing funding and options would reduce pressure that drives unsafe choices.

Representative Sauter moved to send House Bill 3‑96 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The motion carried; Representative Tanner was recorded as voting no. The bill will proceed to the full House for further consideration.