                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

TRAINING PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL BUS OPERATORS (§ 22.1-181)

A. The Board shall promulgate regulations requiring persons applying for
employment, and employed, to operate school buses to complete a training program
developed by the Board.

B. For applicants not currently possessing a commercial driver&#8217;s license,
such regulations shall require (i) a minimum of 24 hours of classroom training
administered pursuant to this section and (ii) six hours of behind-the-wheel
training on a school bus that contains no pupil passengers. For applicants
currently possessing a commercial driver&#8217;s license, such regulations shall
require (a) a minimum of four hours of classroom training administered pursuant
to this section and (b) three hours of behind-the-wheel training on a school bus
that contains no pupil passengers. Behind-the-wheel training shall be
administered under the direct on-board supervision of a designated school bus
driver trainer.

C. The training program developed by the Board:

   1. Shall include in-person instruction on safety protocols for responding to
   adverse weather conditions, unsafe conditions during loading and unloading of
   students, students on the wrong bus, and other circumstances, as determined by
   the Board, where student safety is at risk;

   2. May offer the option for an applicant for employment to complete all or any
   portion of the required hours of classroom training in a remote online format,
   as determined by the local school division, except as otherwise provided in
   subdivision 1; and

   3. May offer the option for an applicant for employment to receive instruction
   in the Spanish language for all or any portion of the required hours of
   classroom training, as determined by the local school division.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 22-276.3; 1977, c. 393; 1980, c. 559; 2018, cc. 203, 389;
2019, c. 769; 2023, c. 156.