One Student Fatality Reported
TEA Releases 2020-21 Bus Accident Data
The TEA’s just released (pdf summary and database) annual Bus Accident Reporting System (BARS) survey for School Year 2020-21 reflects that 1,089 ISDs and charters reported 943 bus related accidents and one school bus related fatality. See graphic below:
Data is Far from Complete
As in prior years, the data is far from complete due to the lack of a 100 percent response rate.
About 90 percent of the state’s ISDs and charters responded to the 2020-21 survey, a much higher percentage than the 65 percent that responded in 2019-20 (possibly due to the pandemic that caused schools to close starting in March 2020).
In a typical school year (except for 2019-20), about 100 ISDs/charters do not respond by the Aug. 31 deadline to do so. (There is no penalty prescribed in state law for not responding.)
Click here for the list of ISDs/charters that did not respond to the 2020-21 survey.
Fatality
The one school bus fatality reported for 2020-21 was the death of a Conroe ISD student. Media reports reflect a six-year-old CISD student died from injuries sustained when a school bus hit her as she ran in front of the bus in an attempt to catch the bus.
The responding ISDs and charters also reported, for non-fatal injuries for 2020-21:
- 118 student bus passengers were injured (one seriously).
- 22 adult passengers were injured (two seriously).
- 51 school bus drivers were injured (none seriously).
- 3 pedestrians were injured (with no data on how seriously they were injured).
The survey also contains data on accidents occurring on buses that were either equipped — or not equipped — with passenger seat belts.
Click here for the TEA’s school bus accident survey web page.