Broward School Buses Can Now Ticket Drivers: What to Know About the New $225 Camera Program

Jump to a section

• The dates
• What is on the buses
• How a violation becomes a notice
• When you actually have to stop
• Yellow lights versus red lights
• What the fine costs, and where the money goes
• Who gets the notice
• The clock is 30 days
• If you were not the one driving
• Can you fight it?
• Why Broward is doing this
• Safety or revenue?
• Privacy limits
• What to do between now and September 9
• Quick reference

Broward drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus may soon get a $225 notice in the mail, even when no police officer is anywhere in sight.

Broward County Public Schools has equipped nearly 1,300 buses, essentially its entire fleet, with automated stop-arm cameras ahead of the 2026-27 school year. The district announced the program on July 23 in partnership with BusPatrol.

Warning notices start going out August 10, the first day of school. Civil penalties begin September 9.

The district sometimes calls the mailed document a citation. Florida law initially treats it as a Notice of Violation, and a formal uniform traffic citation can follow if the registered owner does not respond in time. That window is shorter than most drivers assume.

Here is what Broward drivers need to know, and what we could confirm.

The dates

August 10 to September 8, 2026: Warning period. BusPatrol's Steve Randazzo said at the launch event that warning notices will be mailed for the first 30 days and that drivers who break the law during that window receive only the warning.

September 9, 2026: Civil penalties begin.

The warning period is required, not offered. Section 316.173 of the Florida Statutes requires any district launching a new program to run a public awareness campaign for at least 30 days, and states that during that period only a warning may be issued and no civil penalty may be imposed.

The district's information page is at browardschools.com/buspatrol.

What is on the buses

BCPS says nearly 1,300 buses now carry automated stop-arm cameras, covering the district's fleet. WSVN reported seeing cameras positioned around the entire bus at the launch event, including license plate cameras and wide traffic views.

Under Florida's statutory definition, a school bus infraction detection system uses two or more camera sensors producing both recorded video and still images.

Every camera-equipped bus is required by law to carry rear signage. The statute specifies the wording, either "STOP WHEN RED LIGHTS FLASH" or "DO NOT PASS WHEN RED LIGHTS FLASH," plus "CAMERA ENFORCED" and a graphic of a camera, and requires it to occupy at least 75 percent of the available space. If you think signage on a bus was inadequate, that is not a defense. The statute specifically bars raising signage sufficiency as a challenge.

How a violation becomes a notice

The cameras do not decide anything on their own.

When a potential violation is recorded, BCPS says the video and still images are transmitted to the Broward County Public Schools Police Department for independent review. A school police officer has to determine that a violation occurred before a Notice of Violation is mailed. The AI flags possible violations. It does not make the enforcement decision.

That authority came through a specific arrangement. When the school board approved the program on June 9, it also approved an interlocal agreement with the Broward Sheriff's Office delegating citation authority to the district's own police department.

The timeline is set by statute. The district or vendor has 30 days from the incident to submit the evidence to law enforcement. Law enforcement then has 30 days from receiving it to decide and send a notice.

The notice goes to the registered owner by first-class mail.

When you actually have to stop

Florida's rule is short, and it cuts against most drivers' instincts.

Section 316.172 requires every driver approaching a school bus displaying a stop signal to come to a full stop and stay stopped until the signal is withdrawn. There is exactly one exception, and it is narrow.

Broward County follows Florida law. A center turn lane or painted median does not count as a physical divider.

The only way opposing traffic keeps moving

You are excused from stopping only if you are traveling in the opposite direction on a divided highway separated by one of three things:

• An unpaved space at least five feet wide
• A raised median
• A physical barrier

That is the complete statutory list.

What does not count

Painted lines. A painted median. A paved center area. A shared center turn lane. None of these appears in the statute, which means traffic in both directions has to stop on the multilane roads where drivers most often assume they are fine.

A center turn lane is not a physical barrier.

Same direction, always

Drivers traveling in the same direction as the bus stop every time, on every road type, no exceptions.

Even when you are legally clear to continue on the far side of a qualifying divider, slow down and watch for children.

The rule worth memorizing:

Yellow lights versus red lights

Flashing yellow means the bus is preparing to stop. Slow down, back off your following distance and get ready to stop.

Flashing red means the bus has stopped and students are getting on or off. Stop if your roadway requires it, and stay stopped until the bus withdraws its signals.

What the fine costs, and where the money goes

The Notice of Violation carries a total civil penalty of $225.

That figure comes from two pieces of Section 318.18. The base civil penalty for a camera-enforced school bus passing violation is $200. The statute then adds $25 for camera-enforced cases, in place of the $65 surcharge that applies when an officer writes the ticket.

Where that $25 goes explains the revenue math. For camera cases the statute directs it to the participating school district rather than to the state trauma fund, and the base penalty also goes to the district where the violation occurred. The full $225 lands with BCPS first. The district then pays BusPatrol out of it.

Of each paid $225 penalty, $140 goes to BusPatrol and $85 stays with BCPS for safety initiatives.

The camera-issued notice does not add points to the registered owner's license.

A camera notice is not the same as being pulled over. An officer who personally witnesses the violation can cite you directly under separate procedures, and those penalties are higher. Passing a bus on the side children enter and exit carries a $400 penalty and a mandatory hearing when an officer writes it, versus $200 through the camera program.

Who gets the notice

The Notice of Violation goes to the vehicle's registered owner, even when somebody else was driving.

Florida law requires the notice to include:

• Images of the vehicle and license plate
• The date, time and location of the violation
• The amount due, the date it is due, and how to pay
• Instructions for requesting a hearing to contest liability
• Notice of your right to review the video and images, in person or remotely
• Where and when the recorded evidence can be viewed
• A warning about what happens if you do nothing

BCPS says the notice arrives with access to the AlertBus Driver Education Portal, where motorists can review the evidence and read up on Florida's school bus laws.

Understand one thing before you watch it. Under the statute, the recorded video and images create a rebuttable presumption that your vehicle was used in violation. The burden is on you.

The clock is 30 days

This is the detail most likely to cost Broward drivers money.

Section 316.173 gives the registered owner 30 days from the date the Notice of Violation is sent to do one of three things:

• Pay the $225 civil penalty
• Contest liability by requesting a hearing
• Furnish a qualifying affidavit

Miss all three and the statute requires a uniform traffic citation to be mailed by certified mail, bringing court fees and costs on top of the original amount.

Work from the due date printed on your notice.

If you were not the one driving

Florida law lets a registered owner file an affidavit establishing a qualifying exception, within the same 30 days.

The owner can identify the person who had care, custody or control of the vehicle at the time. That affidavit must include the person's name, address, date of birth and, if known, driver license number. Law enforcement can then issue that person a notice instead.

The other qualifying situations under the statute:

• The vehicle was stolen, in which case the affidavit must include the police report
• An officer already issued a citation at the scene for the same incident, in which case the affidavit must include the citation serial number
• The owner was deceased on or before the date of the violation, which requires a certified death certificate plus documentation that the vehicle or plate was disposed of beforehand

Leased vehicles are handled separately. If the vehicle is registered in the lessee's name, the lessor is not responsible and does not need to file an affidavit.

Submitting a false affidavit is a second-degree misdemeanor.

Follow the filing instructions printed on your notice exactly. Broward has not published its affidavit procedure in detail, and requirements in these programs are typically specific.

Can you fight it?

Yes. The notice is required to tell you how.

Section 316.173 provides that a court with jurisdiction over traffic violations determines whether a violation occurred, using a preponderance of the evidence standard. If the violation is upheld, you pay the original penalty and the court may add costs.

Broward's setup may route differently in practice. When the school board approved the program on June 9, it also approved an agreement with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings to serve as arbiter of contested citations. Follow the hearing instructions printed on your notice rather than assuming a venue.

Watch the video before you decide. The recorded evidence carries a rebuttable presumption against you, and contesting and losing costs more than paying.

Nobody knows yet how Broward hearings will go, because no notices have been issued. That will not stay unknowable for long. The statute requires the district to report quarterly on how many notices were contested, upheld and dismissed.

Why Broward is doing this

BCPS reported 1,244 illegal passings during the 2025-26 school year. Officials say that total includes district buses, charter schools and outside vendors that transport students.

That figure reflects what bus operators observed and documented, so it is a floor rather than a complete count.

Superintendent Howard Hepburn described the warning period as making sure Broward residents are educated on the program before enforcement starts. School Board Chair Sarah Leonardi has said the cameras are meant to deter dangerous driving. Board member Allen Zeman framed the message for drivers as taking your time to save a life.

The district cites data showing more than 90 percent of first-time violators do not commit a second offense after receiving a citation.

Broward had a cautionary example next door. Miami-Dade temporarily suspended enforcement of its own bus camera program after drivers complained about citations issued in error, and Hepburn has said Broward reviewed those concerns before launching.

Safety or revenue?

That question will come up the moment the first $225 notices land, so here are the numbers.

Florida law says a district's decision to install these systems must be based solely on the need to increase public safety. No individual may take a commission from violation revenue, and a vendor may not be paid based on the number of violations detected. A vendor may receive a fixed amount of collected proceeds for installing, operating and maintaining the system.

The statute also limits what the district can spend it on: the camera systems, student transportation safety initiatives, enforcement administration, and bus driver recruitment and retention.

BusPatrol is covering the cost of the equipment and installation, so the hardware did not come out of the district's operating budget.

At the June 9 meeting, where approval was unanimous, district staff cited a BusPatrol estimate that the program could generate between $8 million and $12 million in its first year. Zeman voted yes while objecting to the long-term split, saying he was not comfortable giving up 70 percent of the money on a forever basis. Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco supported the program during public comment while pressing the board on how the revenue would be tracked.

Asked about the money at the July launch, Hepburn said the district hopes to make zero dollars.

So it is both. The safety case is real, the revenue projection is real, and the board approved it with both in the room.

You will be able to check. Section 316.173 requires every district running one of these programs to report quarterly to the state on how many notices were issued, contested, upheld, dismissed, escalated to citations and paid, along with location data for each infraction. That feeds an annual report to the Governor and legislative leaders.

The Friendly Scoop has not independently reviewed the signed contract or revenue schedule.

Privacy limits

Florida law restricts how this footage can be used.

The systems cannot be used for remote surveillance. Recorded video and images may only be used for traffic enforcement and for determining criminal or civil liability for incidents captured incidentally.

The law requires the system to obscure personal identifying information not relevant to the alleged violation, to the extent practicable, including the identity of the driver and passengers, the interior and contents of a vehicle, the identity of uninvolved people, and address numbers and interiors of private residences. A notice cannot be dismissed solely because some identifying information slipped through, as long as a reasonable effort was made.

Recorded video and images must be destroyed within 90 days after final disposition of the event, and the vendor must notify the district in writing by December 31 each year that it happened.

Registered owner information is not the property of the vendor and may only be used for the enforcement program.

What to do between now and September 9

• Yellow lights mean slow down and prepare to stop
• Red lights mean students are loading or unloading
• Traffic in both directions stops unless you are opposite a raised median, a physical barrier or an unpaved median at least five feet wide
• Painted medians and center turn lanes do not count
• Same direction as the bus means you stop, always
• The camera does not make the call, school police review the evidence
• The notice goes to the registered owner
• You have 30 days to pay, contest or file a qualifying affidavit
• Ignoring it produces a certified-mail traffic citation and more cost

The point is not avoiding a ticket.

Children are most vulnerable in the few seconds when they are stepping off a bus, crossing a road or moving through a driver's blind spot. Starting September 9, if you get that wrong in Broward County, the incident and your plate are both on video.

Quick reference

Related reading

🔗 Back to School 2026-27: The Complete Broward & Palm Beach County Guide - Both districts start August 10, the same day the camera warnings begin. Calendars, immunization deadlines, bus and meal updates.

🔗 SW 10th Street Connector: What to Know - The $1.3 billion FDOT project reshaping how Broward drivers move between the Sawgrass and I-95.

🔗 Hurricane Season 2026: The Complete South Florida Homeowner's Prep Guide - What to have ready before a storm, from evacuation zones to insurance homework.

Sources

Program details come from Broward County Public Schools, including its July 23, 2026 program announcement, and from coverage of the launch event and the June 9, 2026 school board meeting by Local 10, WSVN, CBS Miami, NBC 6 South Florida and the Miami Herald newspaper group.

Roadway requirements, penalty amounts, notice contents, response deadlines, affidavit rules, signage requirements, privacy protections and reporting requirements were verified directly against Sections 316.172, 316.173 and 318.18 of the Florida Statutes.