The national school bus driver shortage is an ongoing issue that has devastating consequences. Half of all U.S. public school students rely on bus transportation, but the number of drivers has declined nationally by 15.1% since 2019, according to the U.S Census Bureau.
This situation creates issues such as school bus drivers being forced to take on longer routes and drivers not being available to cover routes when others call in sick. Such circumstances disrupt classroom time, limit children’s home hours due to egregiously long bus routes, and cause chronic absences. 
Bus driver Samantha D’Antuono of the Readington School District in New Jersey
Offer sign-on bonuses and paid training
Training to become a school bus driver is extensive and costly. Most states require multiple certifications and additional endorsements to a standard commercial driver’s license, which few employers pay for. Covering these costs and providing a sign-on bonus would greatly incentivize people to apply for bus driver positions.
“In my school district, we are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses regarding training and certifications once they are completed,” says Samantha D’Antuono, a bus driver for New Jersey’s Readington Township School District.
Provide supplemental work during school hours
School bus drivers’ traditional limited hours and split shifts often leave individuals needing help finding work during the school day. According to the National Education Association, “7.8% of bus drivers had incomes below the poverty line” in 2021. One practical solution is to provide drivers with more work.
In an interview with National Public Radio, Monifa McKnight, the superintendent of the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, reported that the district had successfully acquired drivers by guaranteeing them at least 30 hours of work per week. Other districts employ drivers in such supplemental positions as aides, groundskeepers, or custodians during the school day.
Officials in other districts, such as Ben Shuldiner, the superintendent of Lansing, Michigan, are encouraging similar policy changes. Shuldiner would like to make bus drivers full-time employees. As full-time employees, they would be entitled to benefits, and they could also be assigned to other jobs while students are in the classroom.
Connect drivers with summer opportunities
The lack of summer hours is similarly discouraging to existing and potential school bus drivers. Drivers often contract annually but only drive for 10 months, so they cannot collect unemployment during the summer. One solution, offered at Readington Township School District, is to pay 10-month employees on a 12-month basis. In this way, drivers receive a check all year round at a prorated amount, regardless of driving days.
In Minnesota, a law was recently changed to allow education support professionals such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and custodial staff, to be able to collect unemployment over the summer from the state if they are unable to find summer work.
“Being able to receive summer unemployment benefits could help provide an economic cushion…during summer breaks,” said Thomas May, Minnesota’s Eden Prairie district’s executive director of human resources.
Enlist parents
It is essential for school districts to be transparent with the community about the bus driver shortage and to broadcast the seriousness of the problem. Increasing awareness can get parents involved in the solution. For example, some districts encourage parents who can drive their children to and from school to pick up other children in the neighborhood and carpool for after-school sports, clubs, and other activities. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the St. Louis Public Schools district even offers to provide families with gas money in exchange for promptly bringing children to school.
