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BUS DRIVER QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

Only employees who have the appropriate license for the vehicle operated and who have complied with the regulations of the Commissioners of Motor Vehicles, Transportation and Education may drive students to and from home on regularly scheduled routes.

To ensure the adequate and effective training of bus drivers, no person shall be allowed to operate a school bus without first receiving all of his/her training under the direct supervision of a State Education Department-approved school bus driving instructor. While a trainee engages in pre-service training, which takes place prior to a driver transporting children, no direct supervision is mandated; however, all training must be approved by a Department-approved instructor.

None other than the above-mentioned persons may drive a school owned vehicle having a pupil capacity greater than 15 passengers. School vehicles having capacities of fewer than 15 passengers may be driven by employees hired as bus drivers as well as State Education Department-certified members of the instructional staff. The latter, however, may not drive on regularly scheduled routes. State Education Department certified staff members transporting students in school-owned vehicles must also comply with requirements of the Commissioners of Motor Vehicles, Transportation and Education.

All school bus drivers must acquire the appropriate Commercial Drivers License (CDL) pursuant to New York State law. Volunteer bus drivers (who operate a bus designed to carry 14 or fewer passengers and drive less than 30 days per year) are exempt from this (CDL) requirement. Such drivers may not drive regularly scheduled routes.

Upon completion of the established training procedures, the school district shall verify compliance with the direct supervision requirement through the use of their record-keeping systems.

In regard to buses that are being leased, the lessee must employ a duly licensed and trained bus driver, who must be approved by the school district. The bus driver will not be furnished as part of the lease. If the lessee is another school district, that school district must certify that the bus driver employed is an approved school bus driver.

The Board of Education also recognizes the importance of the contact time and relationships between bus drivers and students. In-service programs for bus drivers shall be provided annually to include, but not be limited to, such topics as student behavior management, child abuse and neglect, and First Aid/CPR.

BUS DRIVER QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

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