(The Center Square) – A group of Wisconsin lawmakers are looking to make it easier for 70 or older bus drivers to maintain their ability to be school bus drivers.
A bill scheduled for a committee vote Jan. 7 would reduce the frequency of commercial drivers’ license testing for those 70 or older from every two to every four years while also allowing drivers to return to work when they are medically cleared by a medical professional instead of when a state medical review board approves that clearance.
“Roughly a quarter of school bus drivers are 65 years or older,” Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, said in testimony supporting the bill. “Overregulation, such as CDL frequency testing and a burdensome medical review process, is deterring these drivers from entering, re-entering, or staying in the profession.”
Statewide numbers show that Wisconsin has 20% less school bus drivers than it had 20 years ago and lawmakers say they are concerned it will lead to school cancellations or delays along with overcrowded and unsafe buses.
“This is verging into a crisis, as these drivers perform the essential service of transporting our kids around safely,” Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, said in testimony on the bill. “Without them, schools would have to look to radical new ideas for getting kids to school, field trips, and away games.”
Assembly Bill 393 also allows for physician assistants and advanced practice nurses to join the medical review boards, which are scheduled to meet once a month.
“The volunteer review board is supposed to meet monthly with applicants at two locations in the state, however those meetings are often cancelled because one of the three medical professionals cannot attend the scheduled meetings or if there is only one driver that would like to be seen, the meeting is cancelled,” wrote Cherie Hime, executive director of the Wisconsin School Bus Association. “The time allotted for these appointments is 15 minutes. It takes many drivers a day to drive and attend this short meeting.”
Hime pointed out that surrounding states do not change bus driver eligibility requirements at age 70, like Wisconsin has since the rules were altered in 1989.
“This is yet another rule that may have been well-intended when it was created in 1989, however it is another reason school bus drivers are leaving the workforce,” Hime wrote.
