LANSING, MI - Parents and guardians would need bus driver approval or prior permission to step onto a school bus to pick up their child under legislation discussed at the Capitol on Tuesday morning.
House Bills 5038 and 5039 would criminalize unauthorized boarding of a school bus by a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days imprisonment or a $100 fine. House Bill 5040 would require a sticker warning on school buses warning of the punishment. The three bills were introduced Oct. 8, 2019.
Members of the Michigan House Judiciary Committee debated the merits of the legislation Sep. 1. Some Republicans argued the bills provide extra protection for students from random assailants, while Democrats worried about overreach.
Rep. Jack O’Malley, R-Lake Ann, sponsored Bill 5038 and testified Tuesday that buses are “the weakest link in the school safety chain,” and the bill would ensure students and drivers are safe.
“We’re putting all sorts of things on our school doors so people can’t get in,” he said, “but our school buses are sent out every morning at 5:30, 6 a.m. on their own, and we needed to do something to beef this up.”
In the bill’s current form, the only people allowed to board buses would be students, bus drivers, teachers, school employees, pre-authorized chaperones or someone with prior authorization who would be essential to the “health, safety, and welfare” of those in the vehicle.
In the initial drafting of the bill, unauthorized bus entry would result in a felony, but after discussions with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office, the proposed punishment was brought down to a misdemeanor, O’Malley said.
The impetus for the bill originated from videos sent to his office that showed belligerent behavior by adults around or inside buses. A message was left with O’Malley’s office requesting the videos.
House Rep. Tenisha Yancey, D-Harper Woods, asked why parents or guardians wouldn’t be allowed on buses.
“Would you be willing to carve out an exception for someone who is the parent or caretaker of the child?” she asked O’Malley.
The parent, O’Malley said, can be the problem.
“This could be creating an issue, though,” said Yancey. “If I’m a parent and you aren’t letting my child off the bus, I could probably press charges against you. It’s opening up another can of worms.”
There are already crimes on the books that could cover the behavior the bill seeks to address, such as disorderly conduct or felonious assault, said Minority Vice-Chair Rep. David LaGrand, D-Grand Rapids. The legislation would also give bus drivers room to deny access to parents attempting to help their special needs children, such as LaGrand’s blind daughter.
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“This bill would give bus drivers, who are random contractors in my community, the ability to stop me at their discretion from getting on the bus to help my disabled daughter,” he said. “That is unacceptable to me.”
The bill would just categorize the school bus as property and align it with standard trespassing infractions, said Majority Vice-chair Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain.
O’Malley added that it was his intent to unburden bus drivers and allow them to “keep everyone safe.”
“It’s their job to get your kids to and from home safely, sometimes on icy roads,” he said. “Sometimes with 50 kids screaming in the back. The last thing they need is someone trying to get on that bus and cause them more trouble.
“We are defending our schools to the utmost, but nobody thinks about the school bus. That’s the softest target.”
The bill would also create a $500 civil infraction for impeding “the progress or operation of a school bus.” The bill remained in the Judiciary Committee for further deliberation.
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