POLK COUNTY, FL — A deadly school bus crash in Polk County is raising new questions about how students are protected inside Florida school buses and why state law still falls short of federal safety recommendations.
One student, a 10th grader on her way to Winter Haven High School, was killed Monday morning when a school bus carrying 39 people was involved in a crash. The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation, including what happened outside the bus and what took place inside it.
Watch report from Katie Lagrone
"We have one fatality of a beautiful high school girl. It's just heartbreaking," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a morning news briefing.
Investigators have not released details about how many students were wearing seat belts, what type of restraints were in use, or whether the belts played a role in the outcome of the crash.
Florida requires seat belts, but not the type federal investigators recommend
Florida law requires school buses built since 2001 to be equipped with seat belts. However, students are not required to wear them, and state law does not require the more protective lap-and-shoulder belts recommended by federal safety investigators. Instead, many Florida school buses continue to use standard lap belts.
The federal recommendation followed an investigation by Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone more than a decade ago.
In 2012, a St. Lucie County school bus collided with a semi-truck, killing 9-year-old Aaron Beauchamp. Aaron was wearing the bus's standard lap belt at the time of the crash.
Several years later, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) examined that crash and studied how different types of seat belts affect student safety.
The agency's testing showed significant differences between standard lap belts and lap-and-shoulder restraints. Simulations demonstrated that lap-and-shoulder belts provide greater protection by better controlling a passenger's movement during a crash.
As a result, the NTSB recommended that all school buses nationwide be equipped with lap-and-shoulder belts.
Federal recommendation to Florida went unanswered
The NTSB specifically urged Florida to change state law to require lap-and-shoulder belts on new large school buses.
That recommendation was never adopted.
Today, it remains unclear how many Florida school districts have voluntarily upgraded their fleets to meet the federal recommendation.
In St. Lucie County, nearly 15 years after Aaron's death, about 20% of district school buses still use only standard lap belts.
In Polk County, a district spokesperson confirmed on Monday that all the district’s school buses are equipped with just lap belts.
The latest crash has renewed questions about whether stronger seat belt requirements could better protect students who are traveling to and from school on a school bus.
School buses remain the safest way to travel to school
Despite the concerns raised by this tragedy, transportation safety experts continue to emphasize that deadly school bus crashes are extremely rare, and that school buses remain the safest form of transportation for students traveling to and from school.
For families in Polk County and across Florida, the crash could prompt renewed scrutiny of whether the state's school bus safety standards should be updated to reflect federal recommendations.
"No one will ever understand how heavy this weighs on our hearts," Polk County Schools Superintendent Fred Heid said following the crash.
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