News & Insights

​School bus drivers know that nearly every school bus is equipped with audio/video recording equipment. Drivers also know that most students travel with a cell phone that has audio/video recording capability. As a result, drivers often have to deal with students making their own audio/video recordings on the school bus when incidents or accidents occur. How should a driver respond when students are recording a school bus incident, or when students are recording the driver disciplining students?...

Insurance requirements for school bus operators often times differ from state-to-state. Some states have specific requirements for school buses used in home-to-school transportation, while others only impose minimum insurance requirements on specific types of transportation, such as charter work. For school transportation operators, sometimes federal requirements apply as well. Continue reading for a brief overview of what minimum insurance requirements could apply to Pennsylvania school transpo...

As we head into spring, many transportation contractors are working on final details of contract renewals with their school districts. When reviewing terms of a contract, it is easy to glance over the terms that look boilerplate, but can actually have significant ramifications for your operation. One consequential term often found in transportation contracts, as well as many other types of contracts, is indemnity. Although it may seem routine, contractors should understand what indemnity provisi...

In school bus operations, most employees are part-time drivers that do not exceed 40 hours of work in a workweek; however, nearly all contractors have some full-time staff that work 40 hours per week. Occasionally, an employee may be assigned to two jobs with different rates of pay, such as a bus driver and office administrator. Accordingly, contractors may decide to pay these employees two different rates of pay, depending on the job being performed. In such cases, there are special considerati...

The RC Kelly team participated in another successful NSTA Bus In on Capitol Hill earlier this month. As we all reflect on the importance of establishing connections with our representatives in Washington D.C. and advocating for industry issues on a national scale, it is important to not lose sight of the fact that state advocacy is equally critical for advancing industry goals. Continue reading below for a brief discussion on the importance of state advocacy, and how you can help shape policy at...

RC Kelly Law Associates is proud to have joined the National School Transportation Association in its annual Bus-In advocacy visit to legislators in Washington DC this week. Richard Kelly, Matthew Jandrisavitz, and Brian Hill assisted school bus contractors from across the country in advocating for the Driving Forward Act to help school bus driver recruiting and retention by making the Under-the-Hood CDL Testing Exemption permanent, and the Break For Kids Act to have NHTSA move forward with deve...

On March 24, 2026, RC Kelly Law will participate in the Pennsylvania School Bus Association’s (PSBA’s) annual Legislative Day at the Capitol in Harrisburg, PA. Each year, RC Kelly Law and contractors from around the Commonwealth participate in this event to advocate for legislative support on issues that affect the school bus industry. Contractors who have not participated in this event previously should consider attending. Below, we briefly discuss why advocacy is crucial to the school bus in...