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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Sanchez, M.

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/22/07

HB

SHORT TITLE School Children Unattended at Bus Stops

SB 1151

ANALYST Hanika Ortiz

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$.1

see narrative

Recurring General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Attorney General’s Office (AGO)

Public Education Department (PED)

Corrections Department (CD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 1151 amends Section 22-16-11 NMSA 1978 to require the PED to adopt rules

requiring school districts to implement a policy that prohibits a driver of a school bus from

leaving a student eight years of age or younger unattended at a school bus stop, unless the

student’s parent or legal guardian has provided the school district with written consent that the

student may be left unattended. Existing law will result in school bus drivers in violation of this

rule to be guilty of a misdemeanor.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

It is likely that school districts may have unsubsidized day-care imposed upon them if a student

does not have consent to be left unattended at a school bus stop; and, subjected to additional

personnel and facilities costs should the student need to be returned to school or another safe

location until a parent or guardian can be contacted.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

PED reports there are approximately 127,521 school children ages eight and younger that will be

required to have a parent or guardian’s written consent to be left unattended at a school bus stop.

Senate Bill 1151 – Page

2

Each school bus driver will need to keep the consent forms on file since they will be held

responsible for knowing the child’s age and if permission has been granted.

Schools will also be required to temporarily house these children in situations where a parent or

guardian has not submitted a consent form and is not present at a school bus stop. There will be

additional costs for keeping facilities open and staff redirected for the supervision of these

children.

The bill will require additional duties of licensed school staff relative to watching these children

until released to their parents or guardians. Children will need to be provided food, water and

other comforts since they will have spent a lengthy time completing a bus route.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The AGO notes that assuming certain parents will not provide written consent, the bill is silent as

to whether its intent is to require that the school bus wait at the bus stop until the child is picked

up, thereby delaying the transportation of other students to their homes, or whether the

unattended children will remain on the bus while other students are transported home and either

be delivered at the end of the run or picked up from another location.

Either construction places the burden of determining whether a child is unattended on the school

bus driver. This could result in additional liability to the bus drivers, bus companies, and school

districts.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The PED will develop rules to require school districts to adopt a policy that prohibits a school

bus driver from leaving a student eight years of age or younger unattended at a school bus stop,

unless written consent is provided. Likewise, school districts will have to enact policies to carry

out the requirements of this bill. This could be accomplished with existing PED staff. Costs to

prepare the rule would be minimal.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

Will the bus driver need to rely on the child’s response when questioning age.

The word “unattended"…what age is required to pick up the child.

ALTERNATIVES

Enacting rules either through statute or PED policies for a school bus driver to report to the

authorities any child under the age of eight dropped off at a school bus stop without a waiting

parent or guardian present. Child Protective Services or local law enforcement agencies are

located in each community and can determine whether the incident meets the legal definition of

abuse or neglect; or, if there is a parent or guardian injured or in danger which is why they are

absent.

There are some that feel sanctions should be against the parent or guardian, not against the bus

driver or school districts, in the case of willful neglect.

Senate Bill 1151 – Page

3

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Do the school bus drivers have cell phones on school buses, and parent or guardian contact

numbers for children.

What is the current school policy for children not picked up from other school property. Is there

a fine imposed on the parent/guardian such as occurs with private caregivers. How long before

the authorities are notified in the case of an abandoned child.

How will enforcement of the law commence with the bus driver being guilty of a misdemeanor.

AHO/nt