If you're among the thousands of drivers who believe you were unfairly fined for passing a stopped school bus, you'll have to wait a little longer for your chance to fight back.
Despite new language in the state law that lets local counties or school districts handle driver appeals, we've learned that the process is still being worked out.
WATCH BELOW: Drivers frustrated with school bus camera tickets still can't contest them
Right now, school buses are equipped with cameras in Hillsborough, Polk, Miami-Dade and Santa Rosa counties. Last year, these counties started fining drivers caught on camera passing a school bus with its stop arm signal deployed.
But since February, we shared the stories of drivers who believe they were unfairly fined.
"I felt like it was really strong-arm robbery," Cleo Davis of Polk County told us.
"The stop sign wasn’t out, and kids weren’t crossing," said Karen Coring of Tampa.
Then, we discovered that ticketed drivers in Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties couldn't challenge the $225 violation because the process to contest these fines had never been established.
"It's just obnoxious," said Lars Larson, who wants to contest a violation he received in Hillsborough County.
The issues forced Miami-Dade County's sheriff to pause the use of its school bus cameras altogether, only fueling drivers' suspicions about the intent behind these cameras.
"100% it's a money grab," Lars Larson told us back in February.
In Polk County, we found drivers who challenged their fine had to wait until their violation turned into a pricier uniform traffic citation that cost an extra $100.
Cleo Davis recently lost his fight against a violation he received in Polk County at a school bus stop that’s located near railroad tracks. At the time, Davis said no kids were coming on or off the bus so he thought the school bus had stopped to make sure a train wasn't coming. Davis is one of 57 drivers in Polk County who have contested their violation. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s office, just two of those contested violations have been dismissed.
"I think it's a money grab," Davis said about the program.
And when it comes to the money, we’ve learned these cameras continue to generate a lot of it.
As of this month, more than 287,000 school bus stop arm violations have been issued in Hillsborough, Miami-Dade and Polk Counties, generating a total of nearly $43 million.
The camera vendor collects up to 70% of the money generated by school bus camera violations.
We asked BusPatrol if the program was rolled out prematurely since so many issues have taken place with it.
Watch Katie ask the question to BusPatrol
"The program is not about money," said Seve Randazzo, chief growth officer for BusPatrol, the vendor for cameras in Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties. "BusPatrol's mission is to make the ride to and from school safer for all kids. We, of course, are a company that has to be paid."
Whether these cameras are really making students safer at bus stops remains unknown. Randazzo said he is in discussions with several other Florida counties that are interested in adding cameras to their school buses in the coming months.
As for the appeals process, Randazzo said drivers in Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties should be able to start contesting their violations by the fall. He adds that the process will likely be done through administrative hearings, similar to how drivers contest red light camera tickets.
"This time, we want to make sure we have extra checks in place to make sure that it's smooth and perfect, Randazzo said.
Meanwhile, in Polk County, the school district and camera vendor, Verra Mobility, confirmed that starting July 1, no violations will be issued until the new local appeal process is in place.
According to the revised state law, drivers who have previously opted to contest a violation but have not yet had a hearing must get a hearing by July 1, 2026.
"Sometimes just rolling out a new government program has a little bit of clunkiness that has to get ironed out over time and that's really what happened here," explained Randazzo.
But for so many drivers already fined and still waiting to challenge their ticket, the wheels of justice from Florida's new school bus cameras have yet to start turning.
"I still have the ticket over my head, and I want to know, was I wrong or was I right?" asked Karen Coring.
