A policy that goes into effect January 1st gives Iowa school districts more authority to choose what qualifications school bus drivers in each district must have. Commercial Drivers Licenses will still be required, plus a CDL endorsement to drive a school bus and any vehicle with more than 14 passengers. However, the Iowa Department of Education’s 14-hour course for school bus drivers will be optional and schools may require completion of the federal government’s far shorter entry level course instead. Republican Representative Thomas Moore of Griswold says the policy is meant to address the shortage of school bus drivers.
Representative Monica Kurth, a Democrat from Davenport, says the new policy is like Swiss cheese, with no consistent standard for all school districts.
Representative Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines, says reducing safety training isn’t the way to address shortages in Iowa’s workforce.
Moore says the policy lets school officials make local decisions about school bus safety.
Governor Reynolds signed a bill last week that outlines the new options for school bus driver training. Federal data indicates that when US schools started last fall, there were about 12 percent fewer bus drivers than there were in 2019.
