现代教育中最大的争论之一与课堂无关，而是与让学生进入 课堂的事情 有关。校车已成为各地学区担忧、沮丧和焦虑的根源。校车是美国教育的重要组成部分：美国校车委员会估计，美国每天有 480,000 辆校车在路上，全部载着孩子上下学（许多是由纳税人的钱支付的） ）。公交车司机的问题——无论是公交车司机短缺还是公交车司机的背景都是红旗——使学校更难保证安全乘车上学。
第一个问题是全国范围内的公交车司机短缺。在全国范围内，学区和公交承包商（许多学区聘请它们提供学生交通服务）都在努力寻找驾驶公交车的人。 最近的调查数据 表明，90-95% 的地区和公交承包商都面临公交司机短缺的问题。对于大多数人来说，问题每年都在恶化。雇主为公交车司机提供比以往更高的薪水以及高额签约奖金等福利 。
短缺的原因之一是非常强劲的经济和非常低的失业率。再加上校车驾驶工作被视为压力大、吃力不讨好的事实，你有一个高需求和有限供应的秘诀。由于申请人数越来越少，学区和校车承包商面临着两难境地：降低他们的招聘标准并接受他们可以获得的申请人，否则可能没有足够的司机来覆盖公交路线。
这些问题导致了学区面临的另一个大问题：关于危险、不合格或审查不严的公交车司机的负面报道。 最近 对爱荷华市社区学区的公交车司机进行的一项新闻调查发现，他们中的许多人的记录上都有严重的危险信号。这些巴士司机过去的罪行包括向未成年人提供烟草制品、家庭攻击、持有毒品、公共场所醉酒和非法通过校车。111 名司机中有 5 人的记录上有 10 次或更多的驾驶违规行为，其中一些很严重。
无论公交车司机短缺多么严重，学区都无法在没有彻底背景调查的情况下雇用公交车司机。缺乏尽职调查不仅会危及船上学生的安全，还会使学区面临巨大的责任风险。 必须进行详细的巴士司机筛查 ，包括驾驶记录检查、就业验证、犯罪历史搜索、专业执照检查和药物测试。这些背景调查可以帮助学区和公交承包商确保他们上路的每位司机都是合格、有经验、安全和值得信赖的。
to the classroom. School buses have become a source of worry, frustration, and anxiety for school districts everywhere. School busing is a vital component to education in the United States: the American School Bus Council estimates that there are 480,000 school buses on the road each day in the United States, all ferrying children to and from school (and many paid for by taxpayer dollars). Problems with bus drivers—both in bus driver shortages and bus drivers with red flags in their backgrounds—are making it more difficult for schools to guarantee safe rides to school.
The first problem is a nationwide shortage of bus drivers. Around the country, school districts and busing contractors (which many school districts hire to provide student transportation services) are struggling to find people to drive their buses. Recent survey data suggests that 90-95 percent of districts and busing contractors are facing bus driver shortages. For most, the problem is getting worse each year. Employers are offering higher salaries for bus drivers than they used to along with perks such as hefty signing bonuses.
One reason for the shortage is the combination of a very robust economy and very low unemployment rates. Add the fact that school bus driving jobs are seen as stressful and mostly thankless, and you have a recipe for high demand and limited supply. With thinner applicant pools, school districts and school bus contractors are faced with a dilemma: lower their hiring standards and take the applicants that they can get or risk not having enough drivers to cover bus routes.
These issues contribute to the other big problem that school districts are facing: bad press about dangerous, unqualified, or poorly-vetted bus drivers. A recent news investigation of bus drivers for the Iowa City Community School District found that many of them had severe red flags on their records. Past offenses among these bus drivers included supplying tobacco products to minors, domestic assault, drug possession, public intoxication, and passing a school bus illegally. Five of the 111 drivers had ten or more driving infractions on their records, some of them serious.
No matter how significant their bus driver shortages, school districts cannot afford to hire bus drivers without thorough background checks. Not only does a lack of due diligence risk the safety of the students on board, but it also puts school districts at huge liability risk. Detailed bus driver screenings that include driving record checks, employment verifications, criminal history searches, professional license checks, and drug testing are a must. These background checks can help school districts and busing contractors ensure that every driver they put on the road is qualified, experienced, safe, and trustworthy.
