April O'Neil / news@WHMI.com

The Michigan State Police (MSP) Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (CVED) is reminding parents and guardians that checking the safety record of your child’s school bus is as simple as scanning a QR code.

As part of the School Bus Inspection Program, all public, private, denominational, parochial, charter school and public-school academy vehicles taking children to or from school, or school-related events, must be inspected annually by a member of the MSP CVED.

Over 800,000 Michigan school children are transported on approximately 17,000 vehicles every day. By law, every vehicle is safety inspected at the start of the school year, beginning each September 1st and ending each August 31st. An annual report for all of Michigan's schools is posted to the website after each September 1st.

Once inspected, a bright green sticker showing the MSP shield and school calendar year is placed on the front windshield. Inspection results are then available to anyone by scanning the QR code displayed on the bus service door where students enter the bus.

When looking at the report on your computer or smart device, each district’s bus count is arranged into categories.

The total number of school buses rejected by the Michigan State Police for pupil transportation are found in the "RED" column. During the inspection procedure, these buses were found to be in an unsafe condition. Michigan law requires the repair of all red tag items before placing that bus back into passenger service.

The "YELLOW" column indicates the number of school buses found in an unsatisfactory condition, but are safe for operation. These school buses by law must be repaired within 60 days of the original inspection date.

The "PASS" column indicates the total number of school buses that are considered to be in satisfactory condition.

“Anyone with a smart phone has the ability to instantly access this information following each annual school bus inspection period,” said MC Lt. Steven Horwood. “There should be no question about the condition of the vehicle transporting your student.”

A link to access the safety reports is provided below.