Kentucky lawmakers consider bills to tackle student behavior on school buses, driver shortages

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- School bus behavior in Kentucky is the focus of a bill being considered by state lawmakers in Frankfort.

House Bills 446 and 447 have already passed the state House. On Thursday, the bills were heard in a Senate education committee.

One of the sponsors, Rep. Kevin Bratcher, R-Louisville, talked about the struggles he and others have heard from bus drivers largely focused on behavior.

"This just started when we had some busing issues in Jefferson County, and we come to find out, discipline on the bus is one of the reasons that we were losing drivers. And as we continued to examine this issue in Jefferson, we found out the whole state is having some issues," said Bratcher.

"Drivers have a huge responsibility and we should respect and address concerns thoroughly," said Rep. Emily Callaway, R-Louisville, a sponsor on the bills.

Callaway, who serves part of Bullitt and Jefferson counties alongside Bratcher from Louisville, said House Bill 446 will ensure that boards of education adopt a transportation services policy based on guidelines detailed in the bill.

She said the behavior policy will emphasize "... the transporting of students is in fact a privilege, and it will state clear expectations for student riders as well as for their parent or guardian."

"We must be sure that if a student puts him or herself, or the riders, or the driver in danger, the driver can act appropriately, swiftly, and effectively," said Callaway.

She said through this bill, behavior referrals should be addressed in a timely manner by school administrators, and if a driver continues to feel unsafe, that driver could opt out of transporting a student.

"It would only be necessary in the very worst of situations," Callaway said.

The policy discussed in House Bill 446 would require signatures from a parent or guardian acknowledging the behavior guidelines. Bratcher said several bus drivers were interviewed, as the bill was created.

"School bus drivers were quitting because of discipline. Discipline from the kids and even the parents," Bratcher said.

Callaway said the legislation is meant to send a message.

"They will be clear notices to parents that aggressive behavior will not be tolerated, and they will have severe consequences," she said.

House Bill 446 now heads to the full Senate.

Callaway and Bratcher also brought up another bill Thursday focused on school transportation in Frankfort.

House Bill 447 considers allowing Kentucky school districts to use nine-passenger vans, in addition to school buses, to help transport children to and from school.

"Qualified drivers. Qualified drivers who don't have a CDL will be able to help with the shortage that we're seeing across our Commonwealth of route drivers by utilizing the nine-passenger vehicles," said Callaway.

Calloway said the measure would be a "game changer" for both rural and urban school districts.

"This bill will improve our entire commonwealth's public schools transportation routines. By allowing the districts to include specially nine-passenger vehicles in their daily bus routes, we will see a more efficient approach to transporting our most precious cargo implemented statewide," she said.

A Jefferson County Public Schools spokesperson said the district supports HB 447, but the district doesn't have a stance on HB 446 until it understands what impact implementing it would have.

Both bills have continued to advance and now head to the full Senate.

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