Committee hears bill to let school superintendents designate prosecutors for bus trespass cases

A committee member carrying Senate Bill 211 told the Public Safety and Homeland Security committee the measure would let a superintendent or a superintendent's designee prosecute people who trespass on school buses, rather than leaving prosecution solely to the driver.

"What it it doesn't change anything about the law. We want to prevent people from trespassing on our buses that put our children into jeopardy. All this does is help the driver," the sponsor said, identifying that they were carrying the bill for Senator Hatcher.

The sponsor said the change would allow a superintendent or the superintendent's designee to prosecute without requiring the bus driver to do so: "It does not stop the driver. The driver can still prosecute, but the designation by the superintendent, that person can do that." A committee member speaking from experience as a bus driver supported the change, saying drivers can be intimidated and that some live in the same communities as the students they transport.

Another member recalled a 13-year-old incident in which a person brought a gun onto a bus following a dispute involving a student and said the intimidation would likely have prevented the driver from signing complaints in that situation.

The transcript shows discussion and supportive remarks but does not record a formal committee vote or final action on Senate Bill 211 during this meeting. No substitute text, hearing schedule, or recorded committee motion on SB 211 is specified in the transcript.