Are seat belts required on school buses? Here are the nine states with laws in the books

Other than Texas, only eight states have a law mandating seat belts on school buses . Texas' 2017 law mandates that all newly purchased school buses built after 2018 have three-point safety restraints, but it allows districts to exempt themselves if they say they can't afford it.

In most cases, the passage of seat belt laws resulted from a school bus crash that resulted in death or injury to students.

Only one state — New York — addresses child safety restraints, which are five-point seat belts designed to protect smaller children.

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A 2017 law requires districts to put seat belts on newly purchased buses, but only if residents in a local community petition their school district to put the proposal on a ballot and voters pass the measure, which would create the appropriate tax rate to raise funds for the purchase of new buses.

The law requires buses that are manufactured after July 2005 and can carry more than 16 passengers to have three-point seat belts. Districts must prioritize elementary schools, when allocating buses with seat belts. A newer 2018 law requires all school buses to have seat belts by 2035.

Since 2001, schools must equip all newly purchased buses with seat belts and must prioritize elementary schools in distributing buses with restraints.

As of 2019, all newly purchased buses must have lap-shoulder belts.

A law required all school buses used to transport students to have seat belts by July 2004, but the law was only mandatory if the state appropriated funding.

Any school buses that districts purchase after July 2019 must be equiped with lap-shoulder belts.

New Jersey A law requiring lap belts has been in place since 1992, but since 2018, all new buses have been required to have lap-shoulder belts.

New York All buses built after 1987 must have seat belts, and children under 4 years old must wear five-point child safety restraints.