How Will New School Bus Penalty Law Affect Marion?

 Superintendent Sarah Pinion said a new law that increases penalties for those that fail to yield to a school bus is a step in the right direction. 

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad recently signed Kadyn's Law, which is designed to halt school bus accidents by raising the penalties for not yielding to a school bus.

The law raises the offense of passing a stopped school bus by raising the fine from $250 to $675 and imposes a possible jail sentence of 30 days. A second offense within five years can earn a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to a year in jail.

Pinion said she thinks this could make some drivers think twice about not yielding to school buses.

"Anything that we can do to make sure that our children are safe is a good thing to do," she said.

She said it is important to know that bus drivers are viewed by children as authority. So, when school bus drivers stop the bus to pick up children, they trust that it's safe to cross the road.  That means it's imperative that drivers obey the law and stop once they see a stopped school bus.

The law is named after 7-year-old Kadyn Halverson of Kensett, Iowa, who was killed when crossing the street to get on a school bus. 

In Pinion's years as a superintendent she said she can't recall a serious accident like the accident that occurred to Halverson. However, Marion Independent school bus drivers have made complaints in the past to police when drivers fail to stop.

Still, she said she hopes this law could scare drivers away from causing a serious accident.