The Missouri State Highway Patrol has announced the results of the Driver and Vehicle Safety Division’s annual school bus inspection program for 2024. The inspection assessed over 10,000 school buses across the state. Of these, more than 10,000 buses were rated as approved, 895 were rated defective at the time of inspection, and 410 were rated as out of service upon initial inspections.
Buses identified with defective components are required to undergo repairs within 10 days. Buses placed out of service must have the defective components corrected and pass a re-inspection by the patrol before they can be used to transport passengers again.
A total of 262 Missouri school districts received the Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence award for 2024. During the 2024-2025 school year, over 4,900 buses (4,931) will display the Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence sticker in the lower corner of the first window on the passenger entry side of the bus.
The results of the Missouri school bus inspection are public records. Individual school district results for 2024 are available on the Missouri State Highway Patrol website.
Several school districts from our area achieved a 100 percent passing grade on all buses inspected. These districts include Brookfield, Cainsville, Green City, Laredo, Marceline, Meadville, Milan, North Daviess of Jameson, North Mercer, Pattonsburg, and Spickard.
The report further detailed the inspection outcomes for specific districts:
- Trenton: Out of 16 school buses, 14 passed inspection, one had a defect, and one was out of service.
- Princeton: Out of 10 buses, nine passed inspection, with one having a defect.
- Grundy County R-5: Out of five buses, four passed inspection, and one had a defect.
- Gilman City: Out of five buses, four passed inspection, and one had a defect.
- Tri-County of Jamesport: Out of four buses, three passed inspection, and one had a defect.
- Gallatin: Out of 12 buses, nine passed inspection, and three had defects.
- Chillicothe: Out of 19 school buses, 11 passed inspections, six had defects, and two were listed as out of service.
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