Although there have been no problems with malfunctions, Patrick County was among the 132 Virginia school divisions notified that certain school buses will need a safety device installed to prevent parking brakes from accidently disengaging.

Repairs are planned during the summer, according to Dean Gilbert, assistant superintendent.

He added there have been no malfunctions.

In a release, the state Department of Education noted that up to 4,000 school buses in Virginia may be affected.

However, the brake issue is fairly easy to fix, according to the release. Affected buses can be retrofitted with a device called a brake interlock. The installation takes about 90 minutes to complete, and will be done at no cost to school districts.

The interlock is required on all buses with automatic transmissions bought after March 24, 2011, when it was added to the state Board of Education’s minimum specifications for school buses, the release stated.

On buses equipped with a brake interlock, the parking brake cannot be released without first depressing the brake pedal.

Without the interlock, the parking brake could accidently disengage – for example, if a student were to slip and inadvertently fall against the brake valve, the release stated.

School divisions were alerted to the issue earlier this spring after the VDOE tested individual buses and found that none of the vehicles bought after March 2011 was equipped with the required parking brake interlock.

Dealers then provided the state department with estimates on the number of noncompliant buses sold to school divisions.

The state department surveyed school divisions to identify all school buses in need of retrofitting, the release stated. Dealers and manufacturers also must submit plans that detail the steps to be taken to install brake interlocks on all non-compliant buses at no expense to school divisions.

“As I understand it, any problems that are identified will be corrected this summer,” Gilbert said.