Buses carrying Beaches-area students to Fletcher High School, Fletcher Middle School, Mayport Coastal Sciences Middle School and local elementary schools are among those catching drivers who blow past stop-arms. Nearly 4,000 citations have been approved since the school year began Monday, Aug. 10, according to a Duval County Public Schools announcement published Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Each violation carries a $225 fine.

Every DCPS bus is equipped with stop-arm camera technology that records video and license plate data when a vehicle illegally passes a stopped school bus. The Bus Stop-Arm Camera Violation Program launched in April through a partnership with BusPatrol America. More than 30,000 students ride district buses daily, according to the district's back-to-school guide. The district also added 36 new electric buses for the 2026-27 school year, some serving Beaches routes.

School Police Chief Jackson Short released the citation count alongside footage of a close call in the 1300 block of North Jefferson Street. In the video, a car turns left onto Jefferson, blows past the bus's extended stop-arm and narrowly misses a student stepping off the bus. Two more students then cross the street directly in front of the now-stopped car.

"This video highlights the importance of following state law by stopping for school buses with their red lights flashing," Short said. "We narrowly avoided a tragedy on this day, and we hope that this is a wake-up call to all of Duval County drivers."

Director of Transportation Chayla Ferguson put it bluntly: "Stopping is not optional."

Under Florida law, drivers traveling in all directions must stop when a school bus has its stop-arms extended and red lights flashing, unless on a divided highway separated by a physical median. Fine revenue funds district safety technology and the state's safe schools allocation through the Florida Department of Education, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The district has not released a breakdown of violations by route or neighborhood. Families can review the program and contest citations on the DCPS Bus Stop-Arm Camera Violation Program page at duvalschools.org.