The law that helped Miami schools make millions off bus camera tickets may change
Miami Herald | By Clara-Sophia Daly |
The law that allows Florida’s school districts to adopt camera programs to ticket drivers who pass stopped school buses is getting a massive overhaul.
A new Florida House bill aims to amend the law to update the current process for contesting the tickets, which will reduce the role of courts and increase responsibilities for school districts.
Under the existing system, drivers who receive a ticket and wish to contest it must file hearings with the clerk of courts and appear before a judge.
This proposal comes after the Miami Herald reported that Miami-Dade’s courts have been overburdened by managing these hearings and the Miami-Dade sheriff announced that her department will no longer participate in the program.
In similar legislation where technology is used to detect traffic infractions, such as the state’s red light camera law and school zone speed detection law, challenges are not heard by the courts but by county administrative staff who are assigned to preside as “local hearing officers.” But in the original school bus camera law, the burden of hearing complaints “was placed on the courts without providing funding for the appointment of more judges or hearing officers to handle this new volume of cases,” leading to delays, Miami-Dade Courts told the Herald.
The proposal would have to be approved by the Senate before being signed into law by the governor.
The law would have a massive effect on the Miami-Dade school district’s current school bus camera safety program, which is a partnership between the district and BusPatrol, a private company that administers the program, and local law enforcement. The program rolled out last May and saturated the county with violations, many of which a joint investigation by the Herald and Tributary found were unfairly issued, and raked in millions for the school district and BusPatrol.
Last week, the Miami-Dade sheriff announced that her department would no longer be reviewing bus camera infractions, citing major administrative errors in tickets and the inability of drivers to challenge their tickets.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Fiona McFarland, would shift enforcement responsibilities from the courts to the school districts. Drivers who want to request hearings would do so directly with their school district instead of the courts. A designated hearing officer—an attorney appointed by the district—would oversee the process, streamlining appeals and alleviating court workloads. Under the proposed legislation, school resource officers are also authorized to review violations and issue notices.
In addition to procedural changes, the bill clarifies the fines associated with violations, establishing clear penalty amounts. It will now cost drivers $200 for failure to stop for a school bus. In Miami-Dade, the fee was $225.
Miami-Dade schools has a financial stake in its contract with BusPatrol; the district takes a portion of the revenue from the citations. Revenue numbers provided by the school district indicate the program was flagging more than 407 paid violations per day, seven days a week, generating a staggering $19.5 million in the first six months of the program.
Miami-Dade school board member Steve Gallon says he has serious concerns about how this effort will distract the district from its ultimate goal, which is to educate children.
“Our primary mission should be focused on what happens in schools. Any devotion to resources — time and human capital — will decrease the time focused on the core mission,” said Gallon.
He also expressed concern over the fact that the district, which benefits financially from revenue from these tickets, will be the same entity overseeing the contestation process. He said this change could cause issues with public perception and trust.
“The system of justice should be blind, and it can’t be when the district is a beneficiary of revenue,” said Gallon.
School board member Roberto Alonso says he plans to sponsor an item in the May meeting that will audit the school bus camera program in Miami-Dade.
