TRENTON, N.J. — As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration prepares to propose rulemaking on school bus seat belts, New Jersey’s law requiring belts on buses marked its 15th anniversary.

In conjunction with National Child Passenger Safety Week, state officials touted the law while urging school bus riders to always buckle up and asking parents to do the same in their own vehicles to reinforce the message.

The law mandates that school buses be equipped with either lap or lap-shoulder belts, and it requires children to wear them.

Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said that seat belts add to the protection provided by the design of school buses.

“The vehicle’s weight, coupled with compartmentalization and the use of safety belts, make school buses one of the safest ways to transport students to and from school and their extracurricular activities,” Fischer said.

A demonstration of the proper use of seat belts was held at Barley Sheaf Elementary School in Flemington. Kathy Scaturro, safety manager for Hunterdon Central/Flemington Raritan School Transportation, said that school bus safety starts at home.

“Parents can help younger children learn how to adjust the safety belt to fit them properly and remind them to buckle up as soon as they sit down on the bus,” Scaturro said. “Keeping students safe on and off the bus is everyone’s responsibility.”