I have always wondered why school buses never had seat belts. Turns out there are only six states that require school buses to have them. Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. Well, now you can add another state to that list as Iowa passed the law on Tuesday. According to the Sioux City Journal, any new buses purchased by Iowa school districts starting next month must include seat belts.

Iowa Rep. Megan Jones said legislators were presented with information from a bus safety expert who showed young students were able to improve their evacuation time after proper training, and that being in a seat belt did not hinder that efficiency.

But as for South Dakota, there is no law for it. KSFY had an article published last year that says School Bus, Inc., the contractor the Sioux Falls School District uses, has 3-point seatbelts on its buses for pre-k kids and lap belts on the other buses.

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