Crossing guard immunity bill passes Wyoming House
Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, photo by Michael Smith
CHEYENNE (WNE) — A bill to extend immunity to volunteers and school district employees acting as crossing guards has passed the Wyoming House of Representatives on three readings.
Senate File 110, “Inclusion of crossing guards for governmental claims act,” faced no amendments in either the House or Senate but will have to be approved by Gov. Mark Gordon before becoming state law.
SF 110 would add crossing guard volunteers and school district faculty to the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act, codifying into state law immunity from liability in the event of an accident.
A Cheyenne mother who lost her son in a crosswalk incident had asked her school district to institute a crossing guard program but was told that was not possible, Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, said when the bill was discussed in the Senate.
“One of the reasons was that they said that volunteers and staff of the school don’t have immunity, so they could be sued,” Brennan said. “I would just ask that we take this roadblock away ... so that our kids can get to and from school safely.”
Brennan did not identify any student by name, but on Nov. 5, 2021, 13-year-old Makaili James “Mak” Evans was struck and killed on his way to school while walking in a crosswalk near McCormick Junior High.
In May 2024, a 12-year-old boy attempting to cross Pershing Boulevard at the school zone crosswalk was struck by an oncoming vehicle traveling at a low speed. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
This story was published on February 26, 2025.