Statewide Iowa — The State Board of Education now requires school districts to include seatbelts on all NEW buses they buy. Department of Education attorney Nicole Proesch says they are also in the process of clarifying how districts can pay to add seatbelts to the buses they already own.
Proesch says they are changing the language that governs the use of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy fund known as PPEL.
The Physical Plant and Equipment Levy is an amount up to 33 cents for each thousand dollars of assessed valuation that voters in each school district can approve. It is most often used for building and equipment needs. She says the language for using PEPEL wasn’t clear when the school bus seatbelt issue came up.
Proesch says the change should do away with any doubt on how the PPEL funds can be used.
The Board of Education approved the rules clarification in November, and there is a public hearing on the proposed changes January 7th at the Board of Education’s office in Des Moines.
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