Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1345 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R8694 AND-D
2	2	By: Johnson S.B. No. 1345
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the establishment of a public school transportation
10	10	task force.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 34, Education Code, is amended by adding
13	13	Section 34.016 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 34.016. PUBLIC SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE. (a)
15	15	In this section, "task force" means the public school
16	16	transportation task force established under this section.
17	17	(b) The public school transportation task force is
18	18	established to study and make recommendations relating to
19	19	modernizing public school transportation in this state.
20	20	(c) The task force is composed of 20 members as follows:
21	21	(1) one member appointed by the governor;
22	22	(2) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor;
23	23	(3) one member appointed by the speaker of the house of
24	24	representatives; and
25	25	(4) 17 members appointed by the commissioner as
26	26	follows:
27	27	(A) three parents of students enrolled in a
28	28	school district who use the district's school transportation
29	29	system, or would use that transportation system if it were
30	30	available, at least one of whom must be a parent of a student
31	31	enrolled at a campus that receives supplemental funding under Part
32	32	A, Title 1, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
33	33	U.S.C. Section 6311 et seq.) and:
34	34	(i) one of whom resides in a rural school
35	35	district;
36	36	(ii) one of whom resides in a suburban
37	37	school district; and
38	38	(iii) one of whom resides in an urban school
39	39	district;
40	40	(B) three school district transportation
41	41	directors, one of whom is from a rural school district, one of whom
42	42	is from a suburban school district, and one of whom is from an urban
43	43	school district;
44	44	(C) two directors of a school district's special
45	45	education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, at least one of
46	46	whom is from a rural school district;
47	47	(D) two members who represent open-enrollment
48	48	charter schools, one of whom is from a school that offers a school
49	49	transportation system and one of whom is from a school that does not
50	50	offer a school transportation system;
51	51	(E) one member who represents a private
52	52	prekindergarten provider that partners with a school district under
53	53	Section 29.153(g);
54	54	(F) one member from an association that
55	55	represents school bus drivers or school transportation staff;
56	56	(G) one member who represents an off-campus
57	57	after-school program;
58	58	(H) two members who represent public
59	59	transportation providers; and
60	60	(I) two members who are chief financial officers
61	61	of a school district, one of whom is from a rural district and one of
62	62	whom is from an urban district.
63	63	(d) The task force shall hold its first meeting not later
64	64	than October 1, 2025, and shall elect a presiding officer from among
65	65	its membership. After the initial meeting, the task force shall
66	66	meet at the times and places that the presiding officer determines
67	67	appropriate.
68	68	(e) Members of the task force serve without compensation but
69	69	are entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses
70	70	incurred in performing official duties under this section.
71	71	(f) The agency shall provide information, assistance, and
72	72	administrative support to the task force. To the extent feasible,
73	73	the agency, in cooperation with school districts and
74	74	open-enrollment charter schools, shall provide the task force with
75	75	information relating to:
76	76	(1) criteria used by districts and schools to
77	77	determine student eligibility for school-provided transportation
78	78	and whether the criteria create barriers for a student to attend the
79	79	student's school of choice;
80	80	(2) school transportation system utilization patterns
81	81	and operations, including:
82	82	(A) the number of students eligible for
83	83	school-provided transportation who use the school transportation
84	84	system;
85	85	(B) whether routes are at capacity; and
86	86	(C) methodologies used by districts and schools
87	87	to identify utilization patterns and adjust transportation
88	88	operations accordingly;
89	89	(3) school transportation system staffing, including:
90	90	(A) the number of drivers required to cover
91	91	routes;
92	92	(B) driver pay rates and hours of operation;
93	93	(C) driver vacancies; and
94	94	(D) contracts with public transportation
95	95	providers or third-party transportation providers to satisfy
96	96	school transportation needs;
97	97	(4) school transportation system fleet
98	98	diversification, including:
99	99	(A) the types of vehicles used to satisfy school
100	100	transportation needs;
101	101	(B) the associated costs of vehicles described by
102	102	Paragraph (A), including purchasing, fuel, and maintenance costs;
103	103	(C) resale or salvage values of vehicles
104	104	described by Paragraph (A); and
105	105	(D) the costs of a potential transition to
106	106	electric vehicles; and
107	107	(5) discrepancies between the number of students
108	108	eligible for school-provided transportation and the number of
109	109	students who use that transportation and the causes of the
110	110	discrepancies.
111	111	(g) The task force shall study:
112	112	(1) transportation challenges that create barriers
113	113	for a student to attend the school district or open-enrollment
114	114	charter school of the student's choice;
115	115	(2) improvements to the method of providing funding
116	116	for school transportation systems under Section 48.151;
117	117	(3) existing and potential funding sources for school
118	118	transportation systems;
119	119	(4) potential partnerships among school districts,
120	120	open-enrollment charter schools, public and private transportation
121	121	providers, and local nonprofit organizations to meet school
122	122	transportation needs and create cost efficiencies while
123	123	maintaining safety standards;
124	124	(5) career pathways in school transportation and
125	125	logistics; and
126	126	(6) competitive salaries and benefits packages
127	127	necessary to recruit and retain school transportation drivers.
128	128	(h) Not later than December 1, 2026, the task force shall
129	129	submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the
130	130	house of representatives, and each legislative committee with
131	131	primary jurisdiction over primary and secondary education a report
132	132	on the task force's findings and any recommendations for
133	133	legislative or other action.
134	134	(i) The task force is abolished and this section expires
135	135	September 1, 2027.
136	136	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
137	137	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
138	138	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
139	139	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
140	140	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.