(1)(a) Each school bus that is purchased new after December 31, 2000, and used to transport students in grades pre-K through 12 must be equipped with safety belts or with any other restraint system approved by the Federal Government in a number sufficient to allow each student who is being transported to use a separate safety belt or restraint system. These safety belts must meet the standards required under s. 316.614. A school bus that was purchased prior to December 31, 2000, is not required to be equipped with safety belts.
(b) As used in this section, “school bus” means a school bus that is owned, leased, operated, or contracted by a school district.
(2) Each passenger on a school bus that is equipped with safety belts or restraint system shall wear a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt at all times while the bus is in operation. The state, the county, a school district, school bus operator under contract with a school district, or an agent or employee of a school district or operator, including a teacher or volunteer serving as a chaperone, is not liable in an action for personal injury by a school bus passenger solely because the injured party was not wearing a safety belt.
(3) The state, the county, a school district, school bus operator under contract with a school district, or an agent or employee of a school district or operator, including a teacher or volunteer serving as a chaperone, is not liable in an action for personal injury by a school bus passenger for an injury caused solely by another passenger’s use or nonuse of a safety belt or restraint system in a dangerous or unsafe manner.
(4) In implementing the provisions of this section, each school district must prioritize the allocation of buses equipped with safety belts or restraint system to ensure that elementary schools within the district receive first priority. A school district may enter into agreements to provide transportation pursuant to this section only if the point of origin or termination of the trip is within the district’s boundaries.
(5) The provisions of this section shall not apply to vehicles as defined in s. 1006.25(1)(b).
History.—s. 3, ch. 99-316; s. 958, ch. 2002-387; s. 2, ch. 2003-90.