LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Tens of thousands of school bus safety violations were found last semester in Clark County.
That's according to new data released by the Clark County School District and BusPatrol from a school bus safety pilot program.
From Jan. 13 through May 23 of this year, 30 school buses were equipped with AI-powered stop-arm cameras. During that time, they recorded 11,079 violations involving motorists who failed to stop for the school bus.
That averages to just over five illegal passings per bus per day.
The video was shared with policymakers and stakeholders across the state to show the everyday dangers children face during their school commutes.
“The numbers from the Clark County pilot program are deeply concerning and should serve as a wake-up call,” said Nevada State Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro. “I was proud to work with BusPatrol to support this commonsense legislation to help protect our most vulnerable - our children - as they travel to and from school. This new law gives school districts the opportunity to modernize their fleets at no cost, hold dangerous drivers accountable, and make our roads safer for everyone.”
The new law comes from the passing of Assembly Bill 527, which will allow cameras to be affixed to school buses to catch people who speed by when the red lights are flashing.
It was one of the bills Senior Political Reporter Steve Sebelius tracked throughout the 2025 session. Watch his breakdown of other 2025 bills here.
With this new law, school districts can capture violations on video and work with law enforcement to issue civil citations to the registered owners of vehicles that illegally pass stopped school buses.
“Clark County is experiencing a child safety crisis that is putting our students at risk, with a violation rate that is more than five times that of other states altogether,” said Justin Meyers, President and Chief Innovation Officer for BusPatrol.
We asked CCSD Superintendent Jhone Ebert about the new law, and she says her district will be taking full advantage.
"The law allows those people who are not following the law to be ticketed if they're caught on the cameras. We need to work out how that process is going to go through with our partners, and the municipalities, counties, and cities on how to move forward.
The law went into effect yesterday, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll automatically see these cameras on all CCSD buses when school starts in August.
It's a big undertaking to install them and pore through the hours of footage they'll record. We also asked Ebert and BusPatrol who would be paying for his.
Ebert said there's no up-front cost to the district. BusPatrol said the costs are fronted by the company installing the cameras and recouped through citations. However, Ebert said CCSD still needs to figure out the cost of reviewing all the footage and how CCSD will pay for that.
The first day for students for the 2025-2026 Clark County School District year is Aug. 11.
