PENNSYLVANIA, October 6 - WHEREAS, While Federal and State laws and regulations serve

as safeguards to assure the safe transport of school children,

the "under-the-hood" training requirement for commercial

driver's licenses has proven to be a significant barrier to

entry into the school bus industry; and

WHEREAS, The "under-the-hood" training, which is tailored for

large commercial vehicles, requires a school bus driver to

identify certain parts of the school bus engine and remedy them

in the event of an issue; and

WHEREAS, The "under-the-hood" inspection is not applicable

for school bus drivers, since their pretrip inspection does not

require inspecting items in the engine bay, and in the event of

a breakdown, a school bus driver remains on the bus while

another individual addresses the mechanical issues; and

WHEREAS, Across this Commonwealth, school districts and

school bus companies have been struggling to hire and retain an

adequate number of qualified school bus drivers; and

WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the shortage,

at times resulting in school districts attempting to borrow

school bus drivers from neighboring school districts, to

significantly modify or delay bus schedules or ultimately having

no choice but to cancel an entire school day; and

WHEREAS, The number of licensed school bus drivers in this

Commonwealth is declining, while the number of students needing

daily school bus transportation continues to increase; therefore

be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate urge the Congress of the United

States and the United States Department of Transportation to

take action on the nationwide school bus driver shortage; and be

it further

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