JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Nine out of 10 school buses in Missouri passed their initial inspection by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The patrol’s Motor Vehicle Inspection Division conducted the 2017 annual school bus inspection from Feb. 2 to May 5.

"The annual school bus inspection program is one of the ways the Missouri State Highway Patrol serves and protects our children,” said Col. Sandra Karsten, superintendent of the patrol. “Ensuring they have safe transportation to and from school and related events is a priority for the patrol.”

Patrol personnel examined a total of 12,047 school buses across the state. In all, 90.24% were approved with no defective items noted during inspection.

In the Missouri inspection program, school buses found to have no defective items are rated "approved.” Buses with one or more defective items that do not constitute an immediate danger are rated "defective.” Buses with any defects that constitute an immediate danger are rated "out-of-service."

Buses rated "defective" can continue to transport students, but the defects have to be repaired within 10 days. Then the Missouri State Highway Patrol re-inspects those buses.

Buses rated "out-of-service" can’t transport students until they are repaired, re-inspected, and placed back into service by patrol personnel.

Here are the statewide 2017 school bus inspection results:

• 10,871 buses were rated "approved" upon initial inspection.
• 925 buses were rated "defective" upon initial inspection.
• 251 buses were rated "out-of-service" upon initial inspection.

A total of 276 Missouri school districts earned the State Highway Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence Award by obtaining an approval rating of 90% or higher with no out-of-service buses. During the 2017-18 school year, 6,181 buses in these award-winning fleets are eligible to display the Total Fleet Excellence sticker in the lower corner of the first window on the passenger-entry side of the bus.

“I appreciate the positive working relationship shared by the patrol, school districts, and private transportation companies,” Karsten said. “This professional relationship is directly responsible for the success of the 2017 annual school bus inspection program."

Individual school district results are available on the Motor Vehicle Inspection Division web page.