Drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus in Bellevue could pay $500. Bellevue School District students head back to class Wednesday, Sept. 2, and the fine is one reason to brush up on the rules before then.

Washington bus drivers documented 960 illegal passes in a single day during a 2026 survey by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), the Bellevue Reporter reported.

Projected across a 180-day school year, that pace would mean more than 172,000 violations statewide.

The rules change depending on the road.

Two-lane road, no median: All traffic in both directions must stop when the bus displays its stop sign and red lights.

Three or more lanes: Cars traveling the same direction as the bus must stop. Drivers heading the opposite way should proceed with caution.

Center turn lane: Same-direction traffic, including vehicles in the turn lane, must stop. Opposite-direction traffic proceeds with caution.

Road with a median: Same-direction traffic must stop. Opposite-direction traffic proceeds with caution.

The key distinction is codified in RCW 46.61.370: on a highway with three or more marked lanes, a driver meeting a school bus traveling the opposite direction is not required to stop. On a two-lane road without a median, every driver in both directions must.

The $500 fine cannot be waived or reduced under state law, according to the Bellevue Reporter. Many Bellevue school buses now carry stop-paddle cameras that record illegal passes, the City of Bellevue said in a back-to-school advisory.

The city also operates school zone photo enforcement cameras near several elementary schools, and police regularly patrol school areas.

Even after a bus retracts its stop sign and the red lights go dark, drivers should watch for children near the roadway.

Families can check fall 2026 bus routes at bsd405.org/programs-and-services/transportation/bus-routes. The district also launched Stopfinder, a new bus-tracking program that sends real-time arrival updates. Families can enroll through the district's transportation page at bsd405.org.