INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
School Funding Lawsuits Stretch from East to West
Schools in Ohio, New Jersey, Texas and California are among
those nationwide contesting education funding formulas, saying they are inequitable to students and have adverse effects — in- cluding cuts in transportation services. Cincinnati Public Schools is suing the state of Ohio to recover
more than $7.4 million in back taxes the district alleges it is owed by the city. CPS was forced to cut 200-plus jobs this past summer to help balance its $458.6 million budget. In New Jersey, 16 rural school districts have sued the state, claiming Gov. Chris Christie illegally slashed their state funding. Under state law, the districts should receive nearly $19 million more than the $131 million in
the current school year’s budget, according to the Education Law Center, the advocacy group assisting on the case. Te rural districts are following the lead of urban districts that already won a challenge to the governor’s budget cuts. In September, three California public school districts and two educators’ groups sued Gov. Jerry Brown, alleging that he and other
elected officials drained $2 billion from state schools this year. Te groups claim it was unconstitutional to give to cities and counties funding the state had already dedicated to nearly 10,000 schools. In Texas, the Ore City Independent School District joined roughly 700 districts in a lawsuit against the state alleging unfair disparities in school funding. Tis fall, superintendents from several low- and medium-income school districts plan to sue the state over its school finance system. In the current system, some school districts receive more than $11,000 per child, while others receive as little as $4,600. “Given an excellent political excuse of ‘having’ to cut funding for public education, the legislature could have taken the opportunity to at least make the current funding scheme more fair and efficient,” the advocacy group Equity Center stated in its newsletter.
NHTSA Publishes Final Rule to Extend ‘Lockability’ Requirement for
Lap Belts, Child Safety Restraints NHTSA will continue to require that lap belts in all ve-
hicles must be lockable without the use of special tools to tightly secure a child restraint system (CRS). Te new final rule goes into effect on Dec. 27 and amends
FMVSS 208. It was updated in 1993 to require all passen- ger cars, trucks, buses and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds to have a seat belt assembly with a lockable lap belt at each seating position. Petitions for reconsideration will be re- ceived until Sept. 1, 2012. Te current regulation states that the so-called “lockability
requirement” will not apply to seating positions equipped with a child restraint anchorage system, or “LATCH” system, on all vehicles manufactured after Sept. 1, 2012. But, NHTSA said data taken from a 2005 survey indicates that motorists continue to use lockable belts to install CRSs, including in seating positions with LATCH. Te final rule ensures that the lockability requirement
continues in effect for all seating positions past next year’s deadline.
16 School Transportation News Magazine November 2011
Agreement Reached to Extend
SAFETEA-LU until Next April Congress approved a six-month extension to SAFETEA-LU,
the federal surface transportation authorizing law, one week before it would have expired on Sept. 30. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) reached an agreement to extend the authorization of transit and highway programs at current funding levels through March 31, 2012. Te extension, which is SAFETEA- LU’s eighth, provides the House and Senate authorizing committees more time to reach an agreement on a longer term authorization bill. Te American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
reported that the bill provides $24.78 billion in contract au- thority from the Highway Trust Fund, of which $4.18 billion is for Federal Transit Administration formula and bus pro- grams. APTA said the bill also extends Highway Trust Fund expenditure authority and federal motor fuels taxes for the same length of time. Te National School Transportation Association recently
told members there could be significant reductions from last year’s spending levels for federal-aid highway and transit programs. Te highway program is proposed to be funded at $27 billion from this year’s $41 billion, while transit would be funded at $7 billion from this year’s $10 billion.
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