GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An official from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the agency’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on school bus passenger protection would be published soon.

The highly anticipated proposal, which NHTSA announced plans for this summer, is expected to include an increase in seat back heights — from 20 to 24 inches above an occupant’s hip point — and performance requirements for voluntarily installed three-point belts.

Roger Saul, director of NHTSA’s Office of Crashworthiness Standards, told a gathering of state pupil transportation directors that the NPRM had been finished and had gone through the necessary clearances. However, NHTSA still had to find a time when agency officials could fit it into their speaking schedules.

“I had hoped that at this time we’d have the proposal for you, but we don’t,” Saul said.