Attention bus drivers
Currently, to drive a school bus in Missouri, you must have
a “school-bus permit” in addition to your Commercial
Driver’s License. Beginning Sept. 30, 2005, your current
school bus permit will not satisfy federal guidelines under
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act. Bus drivers
will be required to have a “school-bus endorsement.”
Therefore, the Missouri Department of Revenue has adopted
new requirements that must be met both by new applicants and
current holders of school-bus permits.
Beginning May 31, 2005, a new applicant for a school-bus
permit must pass a knowledge-and-skills test for obtaining
a CDL and pass a new knowledge test for the school-bus endorsement.
(Find a copy of the study guide at www.dor.mo.gov/mvdl/drivers.)
In addition, new applicants must pass a skills test in the
same type of bus the applicant will be driving for the school
district.
Current holders of school-bus permits also must meet new
requirements prior to September 2005. The Department of Revenue
intends to send letters to all current permit holders notifying
them of the new requirements; however, failure to receive
the letter will not exempt a driver from the new requirements.
Therefore, if you are a current bus driver with a school-bus
permit, you must take steps to meet these new requirements.
Current school-bus drivers will have to take the new knowledge
test referred to above. Current school-bus permit holders
will not have to take a new driving skills test. Missouri
has “grandfathered” current permit holders with
respect to the skills test. However, the applicant must submit
a “grandfathering application,” which will verify
that for the two years prior to applying for the SBE the applicant
has had a CDL permitting operation of the type of school bus
he or she will be driving for the district and has been regularly
employed as a school-bus driver, with proof of that employment
produced with the “grandfathering application.”
In addition, a federal driving history review is part of the
grandfathering application. The results of the knowledge test
must be submitted with the “grandfathering application.”
If a current holder of a school-bus permit fails to obtain
the SBE prior to Sept. 30, 2005, the driver will have to go
through the entire process required of a new applicant.
If you have questions regarding these new requirements, contact
your UniServ director.
Protect yourself
All bus drivers are subject to random drug testing.
In addition, if you are involved in an accident, you must
submit to drug testing. If you are notified by your employer
that you must submit to a drug test (whether random or as
a result of an accident), contact your UniServ director immediately.
If you fail to contact your UD immediately, Missouri NEA’s
ability to assist you will be impaired. Events move swiftly
in these types of situations. You must have informed advice
at the outset.
After complying with the employer-ordered test, it is imperative
that you obtain an independent drug test in addition to that
ordered by your employer. It is possible for drug testing
to show false-positive results. If this happens to you, the
only way to refute the false-positive results is a negative
result in another test taken in close proximity (i.e., within
24 hours) to the other. This independent test will have to
be paid for by you (the cost is approximately $40-$50, depending
on what drugs must be detected). You may have the test done
at an independent drug-testing facility or at a doctor’s
office. When you go to the independent facility or to your
doctor’s office, do not sign a release permitting the
facility or the doctor to release the results to your employer.
If your school-bus permit/endorsement is revoked as a result
of a false-positive drug test and you have obtained a valid
negative result from an independent test taken in close proximity
to the other, MNEA will represent you in appealing the revocation
of the school-bus permit/endorsement.
by Jacquie Shipma
MNEA manager of legal services and human resources
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