Establishes certain annual certification compliance requirements for school bus contractors; requires Office of School Bus Safety to establish certification compliance pilot program.

S3979

SENATE, No. 3979

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JOSEPH A. LAGANA

District 38 (Bergen)

Senator� KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Diegnan

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes certain annual certification compliance
requirements for school bus contractors; requires Office of School Bus Safety
to establish certification compliance pilot program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning certain school bus contractor
certification requirements, amending N.J.S.18A:39-18, and supplementing Title
18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� N.J.S.18A:39-18 is
amended to read as follows:�

���� 18A:39-18.
[
In each school
year
]

a.�
No later than August 15 preceding the school year in which the student
transportation contract shall be applicable
, prior to
[
the beginning
of transportation of
]

transporting
school pupils under a contract awarded by a board of
education, the contractor shall furnish to the county superintendent the name,
social security number, and certification of a valid school bus driver's
license and criminal background check, and evidence of a check for the driver's
record of alcohol and drug-related motor vehicle violations pursuant to section
6 of P.L.1989, c.104 (C.18A:39-19.1) of each driver or substitute driver to be
assigned to any vehicle in the performance of
[
his
]

the

contract.

����
b.��� The commissioner
shall establish staggered deadlines for multi-district and multi-county
contractors to facilitate early compliance verification and to allow adequate
time for alternative arrangements to be made if a contractor is noncompliant.�
However, no deadline established pursuant to this subsection shall be later
than the deadline established pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

(cf:� P.L.2003, c.66, s.3)

���� 2.��� (New section) As used in

P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill):�

���� �Annual certification� means
the certification and supporting documentation that a contractor is required to
submit, pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-18, to the county superintendent for each
school bus driver or substitute driver prior to transporting students.

���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Education.

���� �Contractor� means a business
that seeks to enter or has entered into a contract with a board of education to
provide student transportation services.

���� �Noncompliant� means a
contractor�s failure to submit the completed annual certifications by the
deadline established pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-18.

���� �Office� means the Office of
School Bus Safety.

���� 3.��� (New section) a.� The
office shall establish and implement an automated notification system to
provide electronic alerts, which shall recur at least weekly, to each
noncompliant contractor beginning one week after the deadline established
pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-18
and continuing to recur
until the contractor has submitted the required annual certifications.

���� b.��� If,
after 10 days of receiving the first electronic alert, the contractor remains
noncompliant, the office shall notify all school districts with active
contracts with the contractor and the appropriate county superintendent of the
contractor�s noncompliance.

���� c.���� The
commissioner may impose civil penalties, suspend, or revoke vendor codes, or
bar a noncompliant contractor from bidding on any new contract until the
contractor has submitted the annual certifications.�
Any penalties
collected under this subsection shall be brought, and the penalty shall be
collected, in a summary proceeding before a court of competent jurisdiction
pursuant to the provisions of the �Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,� P.L.1999,
c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

���� d.��� No school district shall
enter into or renew a contract with a noncompliant contractor unless a waiver
is granted by the commissioner for good cause shown.

���� 4.��� (New section) Each
county superintendent shall maintain a master list of all school bus companies
with active student transportation contracts in the county.� Each master list
shall be updated quarterly and shared with the office to track compliance with N.J.S.18A:39-18
and enforcement of subsections c. and d. of section 3 of
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill)
.

���� 5.��� (New
section) a.� The office shall establish a two-year pilot program to provide
incentives for each contractor that submits the required annual certifications
on or before August 1
preceding the school year in which the student
transportation contract shall be applicable.

���� b.��� The incentives provided
pursuant to the pilot program established by subsection a. of this section
shall include:�

���� (1)�� priority in bid
evaluations, where permitted by law;

���� (2)�� public recognition; or

���� (3)�� reduced administrative
fees.

���� c.���� Within six months after
the conclusion of the pilot program established pursuant to subsection a. of
this section, the office shall submit a report to the Governor, and pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature.� At a minimum,
the report shall assess the number and type of incentives provided pursuant to
the pilot program and the contractors� compliance with the requirements
established pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-18
.

���� 6.��� (New section) The
commissioner shall adopt, pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,�
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be necessary
to implement the provisions of this act.

���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall apply to the second full school year following the
date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� The bill requires a contractor
seeking to obtain or renew a student transportation contract to submit the
annual certifications required under current law to the county superintendent
by August 15 preceding the school year in which the student transportation
contract will be applicable (August 15 deadline).� Under the bill, the
Commissioner of Education (commissioner) is required to establish staggered
early deadlines for multi-district and multi-county contractors to facilitate
early compliance verification and to allow adequate time for alternative
arrangements to be made if a contractor is noncompliant.

���� In addition, the Office of
School Bus Safety (office) is to establish and implement an automated
notification system to provide at least weekly recurring electronic alerts to
each noncompliant contractor beginning one week after the August 15 deadline
and continuing until the contractor has submitted the
annual certification and compliance documents.� If, after 10 days of receiving
the first alert, the contractor remains noncompliant, the office is to notify
all school districts with active contracts with the contractor and the
appropriate county superintendent of the contractor�s noncompliance.

���� The bill prohibits a school
district from entering into or renewing a contract with a noncompliant
contractor unless a waiver is granted by the commissioner for good cause
shown.� Additionally, the bill authorizes the commissioner to
impose civil penalties, suspend, or revoke vendor codes,
or bar a noncompliant contractor from bidding on any new contract until the
contractor has submitted the annual certifications.

���� The bill requires each county
superintendent to maintain a master list of all contractors with active student
transportation contracts in the county, which list is to be updated quarterly
and shared with the office to track compliance and enforcement of certain
provisions of the bill.

���� Finally,
the office is required to establish a two-year pilot
program to incentivize contractors to submit the complete annual certifications
on or before August 1
preceding the contract school year.� Following the
conclusion of the pilot program, the office is to submit a report on the
incentives provided pursuant to the pilot program and the contractors� overall
compliance with meeting the August 15 deadline.

���� Under the bill, �annual
certification� means the certification and supporting documentation that a
contractor is required to submit to the county superintendent by the August 15
deadline for each school bus driver or substitute driver prior to transporting
students.� Additionally, �contractor� means a business that seeks to enter, or
has entered into, a contract with a board of education to provide student
transportation services.