SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Motorcoach drivers no longer need a state school bus license to transport children on school-related trips in Illinois.
A new law eliminating the requirement went into effect Jan. 1. That law replaced legislation that became effective a year ago, mandating school bus licenses for coach drivers.
It took nearly six months to convince the Illinois legislature to throw out the controversial school bus licensing requirement. The United Motorcoach Association, working with Illinois operators, initially spearheaded the effort to overturn the law. The American Bus Association joined the drive, along with additional operators and industry suppliers. A lobbying organization, Consulting 4Biz, was hired to push the campaign.
The entire effort eventually led to the formation of the Illinois Motorcoach Association, which is being managed by Consulting 4Biz.
The law that went into effect Jan. 1, House Bill 2840, provides that as long as motorcoach drivers have current valid commercial driver licenses they can transport children on school activity trips.
The law also imposes specific requirements on schools that contract for charter bus service with Illinois-based operators. A clause must be inserted in charter contracts requiring coach drivers providing transportation be fingerprinted, have a criminal background check, and have passed a medical examination, including drug testing.
Out-of-state operators that contract with Illinois school districts must affirm their drivers have submitted to background checks and a medical examination.
The law also permits individuals to operate a chartered bus transporting students if he or she holds a valid school bus driver permit, provided the permit was issue before Dec. 31, 2003.
A second piece of legislation, Senate Bill 150, also was adopted. That bill is virtually identical to HB 2840 expect for a provision that spells out how the law's fingerprinting requirements are handled and permitting the state police to seek reimbursement for the cost of processing fingerprint requests.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to sign the Senate bill, which is supposed to supercede the House version. However, a spokesman for the Illinois Office of the Secretary of State said the Senate bill does not contain an implementation date and it needs one before it can become law.