Bus Accident Reporting System

The Texas Education Agency’s Bus Accident Reporting System (BARS) uses an annual survey to collect information on accidents involving school buses operated or contracted for use by school districts and charter schools, as required by statute and rule. The survey is open for reporting from approximately July 1 through approximately August 31 each year.

In responding to the survey, local education agencies must provide the following information for each accident:

type of bus involved
number of students and adults involved in the accident
number and types of injuries that were sustained by bus passengers
whether injured passengers were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident and, if so, the type

Law and Rules

Texas Education Code, §34.015
Commissioner's Rules: 19 Texas Administrative Code §61.1028, Reporting of Bus Accidents

2022-2023 BARS Survey

Every school district and open-enrollment charter school MUST COMPLETE AND SUBMIT its organization's individual report by August 31, 2023. If your school district or open-enrollment charter school does not provide bus services, or if no accidents meeting the reporting requirements occurred during the school year; then choose the appropriate response on question Q2, and you will then be taken to the end of the survey.

Reporting Guidance on Bus Accidents:

All bus accidents which involved a citation issued (for either party) MUST be reported on the survey.
Any bus accident which does not involve a citation being issued (to either party); your district has DISCRETION whether to report or not report it on the survey.

Please use the link below to access BARS Survey.

BARS ONLINE SURVEY

If you have questions, please send us an email to bars@tea.texas.gov

2022-2023 BARS Survey Preview

BARS Reports

For more information, contact:

Division of Forecasting & Fiscal Analysis

Rob Caudill
Bars@tea.texas.gov

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