Protecting Students Before the School Day Begins
For many Minnesota families, the school day begins long before the first bell rings. It starts when a child walks down the driveway, heads to the end of a rural road, or gathers with friends at a neighborhood corner to wait for the school bus. These moments are a normal part of daily life for thousands of students across our state, but they are also moments when safety matters.
That is why I authored HF3436 this session, a bill focused on strengthening safety for students while they are waiting at school bus stops. I am pleased to share that the legislation has now passed both the House and the Senate with strong support. The final step is a signature from Governor Walz to make it law.
The idea for this bill came from a conversation with a sheriff in my district who shared concerns about incidents he had seen at school bus stops. He described situations where drivers would speed past a bus after the flashing warning lights had turned on but before the stop arm had fully extended. Some drivers were using that brief window as an excuse to keep going, even though children could already be approaching the bus or preparing to cross the road.
That is a dangerous loophole, and it needed to be addressed.
HF3436 clarifies that drivers must stop when a school bus begins flashing its warning lights, not just when the stop arm is fully extended. By closing this gap in the law, we make expectations clear for drivers and remove the ambiguity that has allowed some motorists to ignore the warning signs meant to protect students.
When conversations about school safety happen, they often focus on what takes place inside school buildings. Those discussions are important, but the reality is that a student’s school day begins before they ever step inside a classroom. Every morning, students gather along roads and highways waiting for their bus. In many parts of Minnesota, particularly in rural communities, those bus stops are located along busy roadways where traffic moves quickly and drivers may not always be expecting to see children nearby.
Parents should not have to worry about whether the most dangerous part of their child’s school day is standing at the bus stop. Families deserve peace of mind knowing their children can safely begin their day from the moment they leave home.
What has been encouraging throughout this process is the broad bipartisan support the bill has received. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle recognized that protecting students at bus stops is a common-sense goal.
Now, the legislation is one step away from becoming law. Once the Governor signs the bill, Minnesota will take an important step toward making school bus stops safer and ensuring drivers understand that when those lights start flashing, it is time to stop.
Rep. Keith Allen, District 19A