SYRACUSE — Seat belts required in school buses? Presently only six of the 50 states (Indiana is not one of them) require seat belts to be worn on school buses.

But recently the national spotlight has been somewhat focused on the issue, as reported in the national news media. Mark Rosekind, administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a shift of thinking for the NHTSA, said he is recommending seat belts to be worn on school buses, stopping short of issuing a mandate, as well as seeking funding and providing more research.

News reports have cited one study by the American Academy of Pediatrics showing there are 7,200 children injured and four deaths each year due to school bus related accidents. Rosekind said he believes seat belts will save lives. Specific data and research, though, have yet to be provided showing how seat belts could reduce injuries and deaths.

Locally, Wawasee Community School Corp. administrators are waiting for more specific information before coming to any conclusions. They say the safety of children is a priority, but concerns do arise when thinking of installing seat belts in a fleet of 60 school buses, some of which are much older.

Dr. Tom Edington, superintendent, recalling the bus accident of May 2013, said he remembers thinking there would have been more internal injuries to children if they had been wearing seat belts. Some have expressed concerns there may not be enough time to remove a child strapped in a belt in the event of a serious accident.

Rosekind is proposing three-point seat belts be used. Bob Lahrman, director of support services for the Wawasee district who oversees transportation, said it is his understanding there would be five separate places to attach seat belts because of the age and height range of children. But Rebecca Linnemeier, Wawasee school board president, wonders if even the five attachment locations would be enough because of the wide variation in size and height of children.

Cost is also a major concern. It would cost, as a rough estimate, $10,000 per bus to install seat belts. The cost would likely be higher for older buses that would need to be retrofitted with new seats before the belts could be installed. Overall the cost could exceed half a million dollars, Edington noted.

Though Rosekind has said he will push for funding, it remains to be seen who will end up paying for the seat belts if they are mandated. Will grants at the state or federal level be available? If not, will school districts have to dip in even more to their bus replacement funds as part of the transportation portion of their budgets?

Only within the last couple of years has the cycle for replacing school buses been changed by the state from 10 to 12 years. Administrators were not pleased with that decision and say it has hindered bus replacement.

Other questions raised include who is liable if an accident occurs and a seat belt was found not to be buckled? And how would insurance costs be affected? Will someone other than the driver need to monitor seat belt use?

Ultimately, the federal government will need to provide specific research and statistics, Edington said. “Belts won’t really make a difference” with some school bus crashes, he added, and buses are already designed with safety in mind.