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Mandatory fingerprinting of school bus drivers would ensure that children do not end up on a bus driven by someone with a record of criminal behavior or reckless driving. This is a key part of my plan to provide new protections for the 900,000 Illinois children who ride 20,000 school buses daily. My plan would;
• Mandate fingerprinting through FBI, state and local police agencies to assure thorough background checks, On the deadline for the May issue of the "Illinois Municipal Review," the measure — Senate Bill 1733 —had passed the Senate on a 57-0 vote and was sent to the House. The legislation was amended by the Senate Transportation Committee to limit the fingerprinting requirement only to new school bus driver applicants. Each year, about one third of the state's 25,000 school bus drivers are new hires. A fingerprinting system would let Illinois plug into the FBI's database to check for criminal convictions around the country. It also would let the Illinois State Police crosscheck the prints of drivers each day against new criminal cases. Current criminal background checks are conducted just once a year and rely only on name, address and Social Security number, meaning a criminal using an alias or with out-of-state convictions could slip through undetected. It is a hit-or-miss system, and we can no longer tolerate the misses. Putting kids on a bus in the morning is an act of trust — acted out each and every school day. Requiring better background checks of bus drivers will go a long way toward making sure that trust is not misplaced. Streamlining Oversight of School Bus Drivers While I continue to favor the fingerprinting requirement for all drivers, I was pleased to see a comprehensive overhaul of school bus driver oversight move forward. SB 1733 would give my office responsibility for licensing and approving drivers by January 1, 1995. In addition, a restricted commercial driver's license for school bus drivers would be in place by July 1, 1995. Currently, oversight of those drivers is shared by the Secretary of State's office, the State Board of Educa- May 1994 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 13 tion, regional superintendents of schools, the Illinois State Police, local school districts and local bus companies. My office only has authority to give written and road tests to the drivers. It also conducts nightly reviews of driving records for offenses that could lead to a loss of their licenses. As of last fall, the office notified regional superintendents of concerns regarding more than 620 school bus drivers who committed offenses ranging from drunk driving to vehicle emissions violations. The large majority of school bus drivers are honest and hard-working people, but it is clear to me that too many have no business transporting Our children.
New Crimes Disqualifying Someone I am also proposing new additions to the list of criminal convictions disqualifying someone from being hired as a driver. Those crimes would include unlawful use of weapons, sale of alcohol to and possession by persons under 21, and carjacking. In addition, the measure would impose a three-year school bus driving ban on any driver who fails a drug test. When parents say goodbye to their son or daughter in the morning at the school bus stop, they need a guarantee that the driver has been properly trained and is not a convicted felon. My proposals were the outcome of discussions initiated with retiring state School Superintendent Robert Leininger. They have the backing of both Leininger and Illinois State Police Director Terrance W. Gainer. SB 1733 is sponsored by state Sens. John W. Maitland, R-Bloomington, and Doris C. Karpiel, R-Carol Stream. It has been endorsed by the Illinois Parent/ Teachers Association. Page 14 / Illinois Municipal review / May 1994 |
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