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Area motorists asked to use caution as school year begins
South Panola School District will open its schools to students and teachers for the 2018-19 school year on Friday, Aug. 3.
For bus riders, we ask for parents and students to be patient during the first days of school as the drivers and students become accustomed to the route and its stops. As the school year progresses, our bus drivers will be on a more defined schedule picking up students and dropping them off during the morning and afternoon.
The safety of our students is our Number 1 priority at the South Panola School District. We are asking motorists to use extra caution and obey all traffic laws while on the road and to be mindful of SPSD buses transporting students to and from school.
Senate Bill 2472, or Nathan’s Law, was signed into law by then Gov. Haley Barbour and went into effect on July 1, 2011. The legislation was named for Nathan Key, a 5-year-old who was killed in December 2009 when a vehicle illegally passed his school bus as he was unloaded.
The following are major components of Nathan’s Law:
- Requires motorists to stop at least 10 feet from a school bus when the bus is loading or unloading children, and motorists must not proceed until all children have crossed the street to or from the school bus and the flashing red lights are no longer activated and the stop sign of the bus is retracted.
- Authorizes a charge of felony assault and a prison sentence of up to 20 years for motorists convicted of illegally passing a school bus that, in the process, results in injury or death.
- Authorizes cameras are equipped on school bus stop arms to film perpetrators in the act.
- Required the development of at least 10 questions relating to school bus safety on a driver’s license test.
- Established a School Bus Safety Task Force.
- Prohibits school bus drivers from using cell phones, wireless communication devices, vehicle navigation systems or “personal digital assistants” while operating the bus, except in an emergency.
- Increases the fine for passing a stopped school bus.