HF 733 (LSB 2533YH (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE 733

BY  MOORE

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the employment of school bus drivers who have completed a department of education approved course of instruction.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.376, subsection 3, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  a.  A person applying for employment or employed as a school bus driver shall successfully complete a department of education approved course of instruction for school bus drivers before or within the first six months of employment and at least every twenty-four months thereafter. If an employee fails to provide an employer with a certificate of completion of the required school bus driver’s course, the driver’s employer shall report the failure to the department of education and the employee’s authorization to operate a school bus shall be revoked. The department of education shall send notice of the revocation to both the employee and the employer. A person whose school bus authorization has been revoked under this section shall not be issued another authorization until certification of the completion of an approved school bus driver’s course is received by the department of education.
   b.  Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, a person who has successfully completed a department of education approved course of instruction for school bus drivers within the previous twenty-four months shall not be required to complete the course again before or within six months of becoming employed as a school bus driver at a different school district, provided the person complies with subsection 1 and completes the course again within twenty-four months of the prior completion.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Under current law, a driver of a school bus must hold a driver’s license issued by the department of transportation valid for the operation of a school bus and a certificate of qualification for operation of a commercial motor vehicle issued by a qualified medical professional. In addition, a person applying for employment as a school bus driver must successfully complete a department of education approved course of instruction for school bus drivers within the first 6 months of employment and at least every 24 months thereafter.
   This bill provides that a person who has successfully completed a department of education approved course of instruction for school bus drivers within the previous 24 months is not required to complete the course again if the person applies for employment as a school bus driver at a different school district, provided the person is otherwise eligible to be employed as a school bus driver and completes the course again within 24 months of the prior completion.