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SB0656 • 2026

School Transportation

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6 and Title 55, relative to school buses.

Education
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Hensley, Doggett
Last action
2025-03-19
Official status
Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Education Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact financial impact on school districts and local budgets remains uncertain due to various factors.

School Bus Mileage Extension

This bill changes the maximum number of miles conventional and Class D school buses can travel before needing replacement.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the mileage limit for conventional and Class D school buses from 200,000 miles to 230,000 miles.
  • Updates Tennessee's laws about school buses in Title 49 and Title 55 of the state code.

Who It Names or Affects

  • School districts that use conventional and Class D school buses
  • The Department of Transportation which oversees school bus regulations

Terms To Know

Conventional School Bus
A type of school bus used to transport students.
Class D School Bus
Another type of school bus that is smaller and designed for shorter routes or special needs transportation.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The exact financial impact on local budgets due to the mileage extension cannot be precisely calculated.
  • Due to multiple unknown variables, the net decrease in local expenditures cannot be quantified with reasonable certainty.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Education Committee

  2. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Def. to Summer Study in Transportation Subcommittee

  3. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/19/2025

  4. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 3/18/2025

  5. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Transportation Subcommittee

  6. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Transportation Committee

  7. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  8. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  9. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

  10. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  11. 2025-01-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  12. 2025-01-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  13. 2025-01-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 593
By Doggett

SENATE BILL 656
By Hensley

SB0656
001864
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
Chapter 6 and Title 55, relative to school buses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2109(b)(2), is amended by
deleting "two hundred thousand (200,000) miles" wherever it appears and substituting "two
hundred thirty thousand (230,000) miles".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.