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Abilene ISD officials outline $9 million price tag, waiver route as state moves to require three-point seat belts on school buses
Summary
District transportation staff told the Abilene ISD board that only 36 of about 127 buses are compliant with Senate Bill 546. They said retrofitting 46 buses would cost roughly $33,000 each (about $1.5 million) while full replacement to meet the law could total roughly $9 million; the district plans to seek a waiver via the state's Sentinel process.
Abilene Independent School District transportation staff told the board on March 5 that state legislation requiring three-point (lap-and-shoulder) seat belts on school buses will be costly and logistically difficult to meet on the law’s timeline.
“We have about 127 buses,” Assistant Director of Transportation Zach Snead told the board, and only about 36 buses — roughly 28% of the fleet — already meet the three-point-seat-belt requirement. Snead said 46 buses (mostly International models) appear retrofit-capable, while many Bluebird models and other older buses will need replacement because manufacturers will not retrofit them or will not warranty retrofits.
The district’s retrofit estimate for the 46…
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