Tennessee in minority of states allowing school bus ads

BLOUNTVILLE — Seen any school bus ads lately on the roads in Northeast Tennessee? They are a rare site in most of the U.S.Sullivan County Schools recently became the fifth local school system to have ads on buses that transport its students, joining Washington, Johnson, Carter and Greene counties.Tennessee law has allowed the ads since 1997, but they really took hold in the Volunteer State when the law was amended to allow color ads in 2009.However, if you travel across the U.S. or choose a state at random on a map, chances are you would only see school ads in about one of 10 states, since information online indicates about 12 states allow school bus ads. One of the eight states bordering Tennessee, Georgia, allows school bus ads, and its state Department of Education has discouraged them.Tennessee and Georgia also are the only states in the Southeast allowing the ads.Sullivan County recently joined other area systems with ads, placed on Central Buses Inc. contractor-operated buses.Even then, a 2013 report from the Georgia Public Radio indicates the Peach State's Department of Education discourages districts from having bus ads for safety reasons, with the idea the ads might cause or contribute to wrecks.In addition, a national watchdog group called Fair Play for Kids, in a Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, opposed the ads, because it said they are trying to commercialize young people's lives.Justin Steffey, transportation and safety supervisor for Sullivan County Schools, said information he's seen about states that allow school bus ads indicates up to 12 do.In the Southeast, only Tennessee and Georgia allow school bus ads, but according to the 2013 National Public Radio online report, Georgia strongly discourages them. In addition, the owner of the Atlanta-based District Solutions that does school bus ads for Sullivan and other area Northeast Tennessee systems, says he does no school bus ads there.According to information widely circulated on the internet, states that allow advertising on or inside buses include:• Arizona: Allows ads on the outside of school buses• Colorado: Allows ads on the outside of school buses• Georgia: Allows ads on the outside of school buses• Massachusetts: Allows ads on the outside of school buses• Minnesota: Allows ads on the outside of school buses• Nevada: Allows ads on the outside of school buses• New Jersey: Allows ads on the outside of school buses• New Mexico: Allows ads on the inside and outside of school buses• Rhode Island: Allows ads on the inside and outside of school buses• Tennessee: Allows ads on the inside and outside of school buses• Texas: Allows ads on the outside of school buses• Utah: Allows ads on the outside of school busesTwo Southwest Virginia lawmakers, Del. Israel O'Quinn, R-Bristol, and state Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Abingdon, tried to get the General Assembly to legalize school bus ads in the commonwealth. Their legislation made it through the House of Delegates in 2018 but got stuck in a Senate subcommittee and hasn't moved since.Scott County Superintendent John Ferguson said he's not sure the school boards there would consider the ads, even if they were legal.VOLUNTEER STATE LAW ON BUS ADSTennessee Public Chapter 0520-01-05 says commercial advertising may be displayed on school buses as follows:• The ads are "permitted only on the rear quarter panels of the school bus" with no more than two ads per rear quarter panel permitted.• The size of ads per quarter panel shall not exceed 36 inches tall by by 90 inches wide, amended from the original 16 inch in height and 60 inches in length, "including any border or framing."• The ads "shall not include: 1. Tobacco or alcohol products, 2. Political campaign advertising, or 3. Individual food items that cannot be sold to students through vending machines" pursuant to state law.• The ads "shall not cover any structural or sheet metal damage or alteration."• "The local board of education shall adopt a policy to regulate commercial advertising on school buses," the law says, adding: "Contracts with independent bus owners must indicate how the revenue from the commercial advertising will be allocated."Isaacs has done that for Sullivan County.