Despite the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) continued position that “the school bus is the safest vehicle on the road”, in 2019 the school bus industry has been the focus of increased attention from lawmakers and regulators. Following is a brief discussion of the evolving state and federal laws from the past year that matter most to Pennsylvania’s school bus contractors.
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1/20/2020| Reference Number : 110.2| Legal,
Human Resources,
School Bus,
Legislative/Regulatory | Pennsylvania,
DOL,
U.S. Department of Labor,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
Drug and Alcohol,
FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse,
Hours of Service,
Criminal Record,
Flexible Instruction Days,
Clean Slate Law |
School bus contractors and school districts are all familiar with the disqulifying offenses listed in 24 P.S. §1-111€ and know that the words of the statute appear to apply a lifetime ban from employment for individuals who have ever been conficted of "enumerated offenses". But, many are not aware that subsequesnt court decisions and guideance published by the Pennsylvania Department of Education now allows for discretion when considering criminal acts from many, many years ago...
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Recent changes to the Pennsylvania Public School Code tightened the state’s qualifications for school bus drivers by expanding the list of disqualifying offenses and by making those convictions a lifetime ban as opposed to a short term (five year) restriction on working as a school bus driver. This article explains the changes and gives some practical advice about the Decem-ber 27, 2011 self-reporting deadline and dealing with affected drivers.
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