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SB48 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DISORDERLY CONDUCT.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DISORDERLY CONDUCT.

Children Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Sturgeon
Last action
2025-09-02
Official status
Signed 9/2/25
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide information on enforcement mechanisms or consequences for those charged with disorderly conduct under this new rule.

Amending Laws About Disrupting School Buses

This law makes it illegal for someone to interfere with a school bus while it is picking up or dropping off students, and sets rules about what counts as interference.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds new actions that count as disorderly conduct when they involve interfering with the operation of a school bus.
  • Defines specific behaviors like refusing to leave after being told to do so by the driver, blocking the bus from moving, or threatening someone on or near the bus as illegal interference.
  • Specifies that students and passengers who are allowed to be on the bus in normal situations cannot be charged with disorderly conduct for these actions.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who ride or work on school buses

Terms To Know

Disorderly conduct
Behaving in a way that disturbs public peace and order.
School bus
A vehicle used to transport students to and from school.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify what happens if someone is charged with disorderly conduct for interfering with a school bus.
  • It's unclear how this new rule will be enforced in practice.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • S. Moore

Defeated 6/25/25

Plain English: This amendment requires public schools in Delaware to report yearly to the state education department about incidents involving people interfering with school bus operations, and for the department to compile this information into an annual report.

  • Public schools must now report annually by January 1st the number of charges and convictions related to interfering with a school bus operation.
  • The Department of Education will create an annual report by June 1st that combines all data from public schools about these incidents.
  • It is unclear how this reporting requirement might affect school resources or staff workload.
HA 2

2 • K. Williams

Passed 6/25/25

Plain English: The amendment changes how Delaware law defines intentional interference with a school bus by broadening the definition and clarifying exceptions.

  • Removes specific examples of passengers who can be threatened, such as students or drivers, to include all types of passengers on the bus.
  • Clarifies that threats against the driver or any passenger are covered whether they occur while entering, leaving, waiting for, or being inside the school bus.
  • Adds a new rule stating that authorized passengers, including students, cannot be charged with disorderly conduct if they unintentionally interfere with the operation of the school bus.
  • The amendment text does not specify all possible scenarios and leaves room for interpretation on what constitutes 'authorized' passengers.
SA 1

1 • Sturgeon

Passed 5/8/25

Plain English: The amendment adds bus attendants to the list of personnel who can give orders that must be followed by passengers and clarifies what constitutes a threat, while also providing protections for parents addressing health or safety concerns.

  • Adds 'bus attendant' as someone who can order passengers to exit the school bus, making it illegal to refuse such an order.
  • Specifies that threatening a bus attendant is considered disorderly conduct.
  • Clarifies that planning to hire an attorney, seek legal remedies, or informing others about concerns does not count as a threat.
  • Provides protections for parents addressing health or safety issues involving their children with IEPs or Section 504 plans.
  • The amendment text is clear and complete in its provided context.

Bill History

  1. 2025-09-02 Delaware General Assembly

    Signed by Governor

  2. 2025-06-26 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  3. 2025-06-25 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment HA 1 to SB 48 - Defeated By House. Votes: 8 YES 30 NO 1 NOT VOTING 1 ABSENT 1 VACANT

  4. 2025-06-25 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment HA 2 to SB 48 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

  5. 2025-06-25 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 2 NO 1 ABSENT 1 VACANT

  6. 2025-06-17 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment HA 2 to SB 48 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  7. 2025-06-11 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment HA 1 to SB 48 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  8. 2025-06-11 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Education) in House with 12 On Its Merits

  9. 2025-05-21 Delaware General Assembly

    Not Worked in Committee

  10. 2025-05-13 Delaware General Assembly

    Assigned to Education Committee in House

  11. 2025-05-08 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 48 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  12. 2025-05-08 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  13. 2025-04-17 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 2 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  14. 2025-04-15 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 48 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  15. 2025-01-22 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Education Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DISORDERLY CONDUCT.
This Act adds intentional interference with the operation of a school bus to the offense of disorderly conduct. Intentional interference with a school bus may include boarding a school bus and refusing to exit after being lawfully ordered to do so by the school bus driver; wrongfully restricting the movement of a school bus; or threatening the school bus driver, a student, or any passenger entering, leaving, or waiting for a school bus. A student or passenger otherwise authorized to be on the school bus in the ordinary course of business may not be guilty of disorderly conduct for intentional interference with the operation of a school bus.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of an inferior court.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Sturgeon & Rep. K. Williams

Sens. Buckson, Hansen, Hoffner, Pettyjohn, Richardson; Reps. Burns, Hilovsky, D. Short, Yearick

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 48

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DISORDERLY CONDUCT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. Amend § 1301, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 1301. Disorderly conduct; unclassified misdemeanor.

(a)

A person is guilty of disorderly conduct

when:

when any of the following apply:

(2) The person engages with at least 1 other person in a course of disorderly conduct as defined in paragraph

(a)

(1) of this section which is likely to cause substantial harm or serious inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, and refuses or knowingly fails to obey an order to disperse made by a peace officer to the participants.

(3) The person intentionally interferes with the operation of a school bus if both of the following apply:

a. The school bus is transporting, picking up, or dropping off students.

b. The person does any of the following:

1. Boards the school bus and refuses to exit after being lawfully ordered to exit by the school bus driver.

2. Wrongfully restricts the movement of the school bus.

3. Threatens the school bus driver, a student, or any passenger entering, leaving, or waiting for the school bus.

(b)

Disorderly conduct is an unclassified misdemeanor.

(c) A student or passenger otherwise authorized to be on the school bus in the ordinary course of business may not be guilty of disorderly conduct for a violation of paragraph (a)(3) of this section.

SYNOPSIS

This Act adds intentional interference with the operation of a school bus to the offense of disorderly conduct. Intentional interference with a school bus may include boarding a school bus and refusing to exit after being lawfully ordered to do so by the school bus driver; wrongfully restricting the movement of a school bus; or threatening the school bus driver, a student, or any passenger entering, leaving, or waiting for a school bus. A student or passenger otherwise authorized to be on the school bus in the ordinary course of business may not be guilty of disorderly conduct for intentional interference with the operation of a school bus.

This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of an inferior court.

Author: Senator Sturgeon