Allows parents or guardians to have access to GPS data of the bus or other motor vehicle used to transport students to and from school.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would give parents and guardians the ability to access GPS location data for the school buses or other vehicles that transport their children to and from school. In other words, if your child rides a school bus, you would have the right to see real-time or recorded location information about where that vehicle is at any given time.

The bill primarily affects parents and guardians of students who use school transportation, as well as school districts, transportation departments, and bus operators who would need to provide or share this GPS data. For families, this could mean greater peace of mind knowing where their child's bus is, especially if a bus is running late or a parent is concerned about their child's safety. For schools and transportation providers, it would likely require them to have systems in place that make this location data accessible to families.

The bill has been introduced in the Rhode Island Senate and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, meaning it is still in the early stages of the legislative process. Key details — such as exactly how parents would access the data, through what technology or app, and what privacy protections might apply — are not fully specified in the available description and would likely be addressed as the bill moves through the legislative process.