Two bills designed to strengthen school bus safety were introduced Monday in both houses of Congress in response to a fatal crash that took the life of a 10-year-old middle school student from New Jersey.
Miranda’s Law, the Miranda Vargas School Bus Driver Red Flag Act, would require bus companies to notify schools within 24 hours of one of their drivers committing a serious traffic violation.
And under the Secure Every Child Under the Right Equipment Standards (SECURES) Act, all school buses would have to be equipped with three-point lap-and-shoulder seat belts. Only eight states now have such a requirement.
Miranda Vargas, 10, a middle school student, was killed in 2018 when the driver of the school bus she was on made an illegal U-turn on an interstate highway in New Jersey. A dump truck hit the bus from the rear, killing Miranda and her social studies teacher and injuring more than 40 others who were on a field trip.
The bus driver had received eight speeding tickets and his license had been suspended 14 times since 1975.
“This should not be a partisan issue. This is not Republican. This is not Democrat. This is human,” stated Miranda’s father, Joevanny Vargas. “If we can find funding for so many other priorities, we can find funding to protect children. You cannot put a price tag on a child’s life.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the Senate sponsor, called on Congress to “set national bus safety standards so tragedies like this never happen again.”
The House version was introduced by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).
“Every parent should trust that when their child gets on a bus, they’ll come home safely,” Gottheimer stated. “These bills turn heartbreaking loss into action.”
