Cranford Mom's Daughter Was Lost On School Bus. New Law Moves Forward To Help

CRANFORD, NJ — Nine years ago, Cranford mom and Westfield real estate agent Jenn Love got an unpleasant surprise when she headed to a parent-teacher conference at her daughter's special needs school in Monmouth County. Her then-11-year-old daughter Emma, who is non-verbal, hadn't shown up for school.

It took until 3 p.m. to find her school bus, Love said recently — and the bus, two hours off course, had four students aboard who were by then "urine-soaked and screaming."

"I thought I was never going to see her again," Love said last Thursday at a press conference with Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick.

The pair held the press conference to update the public on Bramnick's proposed legislation to make school buses safer for students with special needs.

Bill A-2027, Emma's law, was introduced by Bramnick in 2019 and has bipartisan support, he noted at the press conference. Efforts to get the law passed were paused during the pandemic but have picked up again.

The bill says that any vehicle with one or more special needs student must be equipped with:

• A video camera on the interior of the school bus
• A global positioning system that provides information about the location and speed of each school bus in real time
• To-way communications equipment, which may include, but not be limited to, a cellular or other wireless telephone.

Other Kids Left On Buses

Stories about special needs students being left behind on school buses abound, and the students can't always speak for themselves.

In one case, a boy was left on a bus for five hours after the bus drivers apparently parked and got off.

Love, who runs a real estate agency in Westfield and lives in Cranford, has fought hard for Emma (who turns 20 this month) and children like her. In summer 2020, she shined a light on the issue of special needs students not understanding remote learning. READ MORE: Cranford Mom Says: Let Special Needs Kids Back In School

Love's daughter is autistic and has epilepsy. READ MORE: Emma's Law: Cranford Mother Advocates For Austistic Daughter

By The End Of The Year

Bramnick said that when the State Legislature reconvenes next month, he will ask the Assembly speaker to post the bill.

Love said the bill is only common sense. "We're supposed to put our most vulnerable in a vehicle with people — we have no idea who they are and how to get in touch with them," she said.

She said she has asked for contact information from her daughter's bus drivers, only to be refused by many.

"When you call an Uber," she noted, "you get a text message almost immediately with the driver's picture, license plate, and contact information."

Bramnick says he thinks the law will be passed by the end of the year.

"That's going to be a Christmas gift for mom," he said.

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