District presenter outlines cost and options to meet Texas seat-belt requirements for school buses

A district presenter told the Lubbock ISD board that complying with Texas laws referred to in the meeting as Bill 540 and Bill 547 will likely be costly and that the district is weighing retrofit versus replacement strategies.

“Future fleet standard, all future buses that we will purchase in LISD will have these three-point seat belts,” the presenter said, describing a policy direction to buy new buses with built‑in belts over time rather than retrofit every vehicle.

The presenter gave multiple cost figures during the discussion: at one point citing an estimate of about $40,000 to install seat belts per bus and later referencing new‑bus prices in the $105,000 to $150,000 range. The transcript also includes an apparent, unresolved mention of “about $2 million per seat,” a figure that was not reconciled during the meeting. Board members did not receive definitive, bus‑specific retrofit quotes because vendors have not inspected the district’s buses yet, the presenter said.

Board members asked whether potential grants from the Texas Education Agency would be restricted to seat‑belt retrofits or could instead be applied toward buying new buses; staff said TEA had not yet answered that question and that the district will submit its data to TEA and wait to learn grant criteria and amounts.

The presenter said the district’s fleet contains vehicles of varying ages, with the oldest identified as a 1996 purchase and most buses acquired between roughly 2005 and 2010; short buses used for special education with wheelchair access would be retained. No formal motion or vote occurred on procurement strategy during the meeting.

Next steps: district staff will send the collected fleet data to the Texas Education Agency and report back once TEA issues grant guidance or clarifies compliance timelines.