89R8694 AND-D
By: Johnson S.B. No. 1345
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a public school transportation
task force.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 34, Education Code, is amended by adding
Section 34.016 to read as follows:
Sec. 34.016. PUBLIC SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION TASK FORCE. (a)
In this section, "task force" means the public school
transportation task force established under this section.
(b) The public school transportation task force is
established to study and make recommendations relating to
modernizing public school transportation in this state.
(c) The task force is composed of 20 members as follows:
(1) one member appointed by the governor;
(2) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor;
(3) one member appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives; and
(4) 17 members appointed by the commissioner as
follows:
(A) three parents of students enrolled in a
school district who use the district's school transportation
system, or would use that transportation system if it were
available, at least one of whom must be a parent of a student
enrolled at a campus that receives supplemental funding under Part
A, Title 1, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. Section 6311 et seq.) and:
(i) one of whom resides in a rural school
district;
(ii) one of whom resides in a suburban
school district; and
(iii) one of whom resides in an urban school
district;
(B) three school district transportation
directors, one of whom is from a rural school district, one of whom
is from a suburban school district, and one of whom is from an urban
school district;
(C) two directors of a school district's special
education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, at least one of
whom is from a rural school district;
(D) two members who represent open-enrollment
charter schools, one of whom is from a school that offers a school
transportation system and one of whom is from a school that does not
offer a school transportation system;
(E) one member who represents a private
prekindergarten provider that partners with a school district under
Section 29.153(g);
(F) one member from an association that
represents school bus drivers or school transportation staff;
(G) one member who represents an off-campus
after-school program;
(H) two members who represent public
transportation providers; and
(I) two members who are chief financial officers
of a school district, one of whom is from a rural district and one of
whom is from an urban district.
(d) The task force shall hold its first meeting not later
than October 1, 2025, and shall elect a presiding officer from among
its membership. After the initial meeting, the task force shall
meet at the times and places that the presiding officer determines
appropriate.
(e) Members of the task force serve without compensation but
are entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses
incurred in performing official duties under this section.
(f) The agency shall provide information, assistance, and
administrative support to the task force. To the extent feasible,
the agency, in cooperation with school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools, shall provide the task force with
information relating to:
(1) criteria used by districts and schools to
determine student eligibility for school-provided transportation
and whether the criteria create barriers for a student to attend the
student's school of choice;
(2) school transportation system utilization patterns
and operations, including:
(A) the number of students eligible for
school-provided transportation who use the school transportation
system;
(B) whether routes are at capacity; and
(C) methodologies used by districts and schools
to identify utilization patterns and adjust transportation
operations accordingly;
(3) school transportation system staffing, including:
(A) the number of drivers required to cover
routes;
(B) driver pay rates and hours of operation;
(C) driver vacancies; and
(D) contracts with public transportation
providers or third-party transportation providers to satisfy
school transportation needs;
(4) school transportation system fleet
diversification, including:
(A) the types of vehicles used to satisfy school
transportation needs;
(B) the associated costs of vehicles described by
Paragraph (A), including purchasing, fuel, and maintenance costs;
(C) resale or salvage values of vehicles
described by Paragraph (A); and
(D) the costs of a potential transition to
electric vehicles; and
(5) discrepancies between the number of students
eligible for school-provided transportation and the number of
students who use that transportation and the causes of the
discrepancies.
(g) The task force shall study:
(1) transportation challenges that create barriers
for a student to attend the school district or open-enrollment
charter school of the student's choice;
(2) improvements to the method of providing funding
for school transportation systems under Section 48.151;
(3) existing and potential funding sources for school
transportation systems;
(4) potential partnerships among school districts,
open-enrollment charter schools, public and private transportation
providers, and local nonprofit organizations to meet school
transportation needs and create cost efficiencies while
maintaining safety standards;
(5) career pathways in school transportation and
logistics; and
(6) competitive salaries and benefits packages
necessary to recruit and retain school transportation drivers.
(h) Not later than December 1, 2026, the task force shall
submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the
house of representatives, and each legislative committee with
primary jurisdiction over primary and secondary education a report
on the task force's findings and any recommendations for
legislative or other action.
(i) The task force is abolished and this section expires
September 1, 2027.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.