{"id":4468,"date":"2026-03-26T02:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T02:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/minnesota-passes-bill-to-strengthen-law-on-illegally-passing-school-buses-school-transportation-news\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T02:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T02:38:14","slug":"minnesota-passes-bill-to-strengthen-law-on-illegally-passing-school-buses-school-transportation-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/minnesota-passes-bill-to-strengthen-law-on-illegally-passing-school-buses-school-transportation-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Passes Bill to Strengthen Law on Illegally Passing School Buses – School Transportation News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Land of 10,000 Lakes is moving to crack down on motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses with new legislation aimed at enhancing the state\u2019s current law that a Minnesota appeals court saw a loophole in.<\/strong>
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S.F. No. 3623<\/a> seeks to amend Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 169.444, subdivision 1<\/a>, the state law on the safety of schoolchildren and the duty of motorists in school zones, to enforce stricter rules for approaching school buses. It heads to the desk of Gov. Tim Walz for signature.
The bill would continue to require motorists to stop at least 20 feet away from a school bus, but only with its red lights flashing, removing language mentioning federally mandated stop arms. This is due to a motorist’s appeal of an illegal passing conviction that made its way to the Minnesota Court of Appeals last year.
In that case, motorist Allison Waln challenged her conviction by arguing that the school bus video evidence showed the stop arm was not fully extended. The appellate court ruled in her favor<\/a> in September due to ambiguity of how the law defined the word extended.
\u201cIn sum, we hold that the plain meaning of the term extended, as used in Minn. Stat. \u00a7 169.444, subd. 1, requires a school bus\u2019 stop-signal arm to be fully stretched out before an approaching driver must stop,\u201d the court found.
This led legislators to try and close the loophole by rewriting the traffic code to reinforce that the flashing amber lights notify motorists that the school bus will begin loading or unloading students. The legislation adds language to the state law that motorists must prepare to come to a complete stop when they see the pre-warning flashing amber lights on school buses, which signals drivers that the bus is preparing to stop and activate its red flashing lights. Under the bill, vehicles must not encroach within 20 feet of a school bus when those amber lights are flashing, reinforcing the need for caution in school zones.
The bill also prohibits vehicles from moving until the stop arm is retracted and the red lights stop flashing by replacing the previous language of \u201cshall stop\u201d with \u201cmust stop.\u201d
S.F. No. 3623 advanced quickly through the legislative process. Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart introduced the bill, which was referred to the Transportation Committee on the same day, Feb. 17. The committee recommended the bill for passage Feb. 26, and it underwent a second reading. The bill passed its third reading in the Senate March 9 by a vote of 19-7. The House unanimously passed the bill Monday by a vote of 133-0.
The bill would go into effect as law the day after its final enactment rather than the normal date of Aug. 1 for passed and signed legislation.
Related:\u00a0<\/strong>Action Plan Puts National Spotlight on Hidden Toll of Illegal Passing<\/a>
<\/strong>Related:<\/strong>\u00a0Waymo Driverless Vehicles Continue to Illegally Pass School Buses<\/a>
Related:\u00a0<\/strong>Minnesota School Bus Driver Rescues Missing 4-Year-Old from Lake<\/a>
Related:<\/strong>\u00a0Minnesota Mom Helps Evacuate 22 Students from Burning School Bus<\/a><\/p>\n