When to pass a school bus

As school buses fill Washington's roads again, drivers should drive with caution and patience. When in doubt, stop!

OLYMPIA—August 27, 2026—Across the state, students are preparing to return to their classrooms for another year of learning. Meanwhile, school transportation teams are ensuring their buses are ready to safely transport students each day.

The 2026 survey released by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) shows that illegally passing stopped school buses remains a serious concern.

Since 2011, school bus drivers across the country have participated in the annual survey, which aims to estimate the frequency in which drivers illegally pass stopped school buses. In 2026, 101,334 school bus drivers from 40 states participated, including 3,419 drivers in Washington.

During the one-day survey, Washington school bus drivers documented 960 illegal passes. If that one-day count were repeated across Washington's 180-day school year, it would amount to more than 172,000 violations. Nationwide, participating school bus drivers recorded being illegally passed 56,024 in one day.

Data from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) shows that an average of nearly 341,000 Washington K–12 students rode the bus each day during the 2025–26 school year, accounting for almost 100 million miles traveled.

School bus drivers in Washington undergo a rigorous certification process. Prospective drivers must hold a Class A or B Commercial Driver's License with passenger and school bus endorsements. Qualified applicants must also complete required training and, once authorized, annual in-service training.

Washington state law (RCW 46.61.370) outlines when drivers must stop for school buses. On a two-lane road, drivers traveling in both directions must stop when the bus’s flashing red lights or retractable stop sign are activated.

On roads with three or more marked lanes, drivers traveling in the opposite direction are not required to stop. The same exception applies to highways divided into separate roadways. However, drivers traveling in the same direction as the bus must always stop.

Drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus face a mandatory $500 fine that cannot be waived, reduced, or suspended.

The Washington state Department of Licensing's Driver Guide reminds drivers to continue watching for children along the roadway even after a bus's red lights stop flashing and its stop sign is retracted.

As school buses fill Washington's roads again, drivers should drive with caution and patience. When in doubt, stop!