AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.

Under current Utah law, students generally qualify for state-funded school bus transportation based on how far they live from school. This bill would keep that distance-based system but add a new category: students in kindergarten through grade 9 who attend school in Utah's more populous counties (first, second, or third class) and whose walking route to school is designated "hazardous" would qualify for state-supported transportation regardless of distance. A hazardous route is defined as one involving high-speed roads without separated sidewalks, four-or-more-lane highway crossings, railway crossings lacking warning signals, unsafe roadside walking conditions, or areas with heavy industrial traffic, poor lighting, or drainage problems, and parents could petition their local school board to have a specific route officially designated as hazardous. School districts that receive state funds earmarked for these hazardous-route students would be required to provide the transportation and respond to parent petitions within 30 days, while the state board would prioritize distributing these designated funds to the districts most in need of addressing hazardous routes.