In surprisingly good news, Sen. John Cornyn, along with Sens. Tammy Baldwin, Marsha Blackburn, and Mark Kelly, introduced a bill last Thursday that would address the nationwide school bus driver shortage. The Driving Forward Act (S.1284) would continue a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) testing requirement exemption for new school bus drivers. According to Cornyn, this legislation would ease the bottleneck for hiring bus drivers by “removing an antiquated and unnecessary obstacle to their certification.”
Currently, CDL holders must lift the hood of a school bus and identify engine functions, known as the “under-the-hood” testing requirement. This bill would continue an exemption to this requirement while not changing vehicle maintenance regulations that ISDs must follow.
Texas AFT certainly welcomes this bipartisan bill that cuts red tape keeping more folks from entering the profession without compromising student safety. The next step for ensuring that school districts can hire and retain qualified bus drivers would be to treat them with the respect they deserve – including better working conditions and pay increases.
At a state level, making sure our bus drivers get long-overdue pay raises is a key component of our Educator’s Bill of Rights. We’re grateful Rep. Terry Meza has filed HB 419, which would guarantee our bus drivers a minimum wage of $15 per hour – not nearly enough but an important step.