SENATOR Grace Poe filed a bill that seeks to prescribe school bus safety standards.

Senate Bill 964 or the proposed School Bus Safety Act of 2022 aims to promote public safety in the transportation of passengers, particularly school children.

“To achieve this objective, it is essential that the State shall prescribe minimum design standards of school buses for the safety of its student passengers,” Poe said in her explanatory note.

Under the bill, each school bus driver shall demonstrate to the employer, the school, the licensing agency, or other person or agency responsible for regulating school bus drivers his proficiency in operating a school bus.

The Department of Transportation will prescribe regulations requiring driver seat belts and passenger seat belts.

Owners of school buses not equipped with seat belts shall be given a period of six months to install them.

The DOTr will prescribe proficiency standards for school bus drivers who are required to have a professional license.