Commercial Proposals for Distributing Radio or Television Programs for Reception On Board School Buses

In the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 (“Appropriations Act”), Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission to issue a report regarding “commercial proposals for broadcasting radio or television programs for reception on board specially-equipped school buses operated by, or under contract with, local public educational agencies.” In particular, Congress charged the Commission with examining: (i) “the nature of the material proposed to be broadcast and whether it is age appropriate for the passengers”; (ii) “the amount and nature of commercial advertising to be broadcast”; and (iii) “whether such broadcasts for reception by public school buses are in the public interest.” On May 20, 2009, the Media Bureau issued a Public Notice seeking comment on the commercial programming services currently being developed or offered for reception on board school buses; each of the issues identified for examination in the statutory directive; and any additional issues relevant to the Commission’s report. Through this Report, the Commission fulfills its statutory obligation to address these issues, which are important to ensuring the health, safety and well-being of school children in the United States. Although the Appropriations Act directs the Commission to consider all commercial proposals for broadcasting radio and television programs on board public school buses, the record in this proceeding has identified only one such service that is currently being offered or publicly discussed – BusRadio. The Commission concludes that the issue of whether services such as BusRadio serve the public interest may be one most appropriately decided at the local level, where individual school districts in close partnership with parents and other stakeholders can weigh the particular benefits and potential harms of the service in their communities.

• Record URL:
  http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-1999A1.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Communications Commission

  Washington, DC  United States 
• Publication Date: 2009-9-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices;
• Pagination: 31p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Broadcasting; Radio and television; School buses; School children
• Identifier Terms: Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009
• Uncontrolled Terms: Public interest
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Law; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01141000
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DA 09-1999
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 30 2009 7:52AM