Trustees heard a detailed briefing on a recent state law that requires three-point seat belts on school buses; district staff said the rule will be difficult to meet without dedicated state funding. Alex Sanchez told the board the law requires three-point harnesses and that districts must retrofit older buses or buy new vehicles by 2029, unless the district secures a waiver from the Texas Education Agency.

"It is required by law that all school buses contain a three-point seat belt harness for our students," Sanchez said, noting the mandate was driven in part by a 2024 bus accident with two fatalities. He told trustees the state's legislation did not include a specific appropriation for districts and that allowable funding options are grants, donations or other nonstate funds.

Sanchez offered district estimates of cost and scope: "We have roughly about 20, 25 buses that do not comply with this current law," he said, and added retrofit pricing could range from about $35,000 to $100,000 per bus while a new bus would cost roughly $120,000. "So as you can see, this is gonna cost quite a substantial amount of money... roughly looking at about $2,000,000, give or take," he said. Trustees and staff repeatedly described those figures as estimates.

Board members asked how enforcement might work and how many waivers TEA would grant. Sanchez said TEA has limited staffing and that enforcement and waiver decisions remain uncertain; he also said the district had included bus replacements as part of a bond package that did not pass, and those failures will affect the district's ability to absorb the new mandate.

Trustees discussed the practical choices before the board: pursue vendor quotes, consider a waiver and identify possible nonstate funding sources. Sanchez said an agenda item will be brought back once quotes are available so trustees can decide whether to declare the requirement cost-prohibitive and formally request a TEA waiver.

The board did not take immediate formal action on the seat-belt requirement during the meeting; staff indicated a follow-up item will appear once pricing and options are compiled.