I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9733 

To establish the School Bus Driver Shortage Task Force to address the 

nationwide school bus driver shortage, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 

Mr. MCGARVEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish the School Bus Driver Shortage Task Force 

to address the nationwide school bus driver shortage, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Bus Driver 

5 Shortage Relief Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL SCHOOL BUS 

7 DRIVER SHORTAGE TASK FORCE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Edu10 cation, in consultation with the Secretary of TransporVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Oct 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9733.IH H9733

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1 tation, shall establish within the Department of Education 

2 a task force, to be known as the ‘‘School Bus Driver 

3 Shortage Task Force’’ (in this Act referred to as the 

4 ‘‘Task Force’’), to provide information and recommenda5 tions relating to increasing access to free, reliable, and 

6 high-quality transportation for students enrolled in public 

7 schools. 

8 (b) DUTIES.—The Task Force— 

9 (1) not later than 180 days after the establish10 ment of the Task Force, shall publish online, and 

11 distribute to State educational agencies and local 

12 educational agencies, an interim and accessible com13 pilation of resources, guidance, and evidence-based 

14 information for State educational agencies and local 

15 educational agencies containing best practices on 

16 how— 

17 (A) to increase access to free, reliable, and 

18 high-quality transportation for students enrolled 

19 in public schools; and 

20 (B) to address disparities or shortages in 

21 public school driver supply; 

22 (2) not later than 60 days after the establish23 ment of the Task Force, and at least once each cal24 endar quarter thereafter until the Task Force is disVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Oct 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9733.IH H9733

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1 solved, shall recommend to the Secretary ideas for 

2 guidance and regulations related to— 

3 (A) increasing access to free, reliable, and 

4 high-quality transportation for students enrolled 

5 in public schools; and 

6 (B) addressing disparities or shortages in 

7 public school driver supply; and 

8 (3) shall submit the reports required under sub9 section (e). 

10 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

11 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Sec12 retary shall appoint not fewer than 10, and not more 

13 than 15, individuals to the Task Force, including the 

14 following: 

15 (A) At least 1 representative from the De16 partment of Labor. 

17 (B) At least 3 representatives from the 

18 Department of Transportation. 

19 (C) At least 2 representatives from labor 

20 unions which represent public school bus driv21 ers. 

22 (D) At least 1 representative from labor 

23 unions which represent public school faculty 

24 and staff. 


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1 (E) At least 1 representative from organi2 zations representing parents of students en3 rolled in a public school. 

4 (F) At least 1 representative from civil 

5 rights organizations. 

6 (2) TERMS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

8 Task Force shall be appointed for a term of 2 

9 years or until the dissolution of the Task Force. 

10 The Secretary may reappoint members to the 

11 Task Force for such additional 2-year terms as 

12 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

13 (B) VACANCIES.—The Secretary shall fill a 

14 vacancy in the Task Force in the same manner 

15 as the original appointment not later than 30 

16 days after the date on which such vacancy oc17 curs. 

18 (3) BASIC PAY.— 

19 (A) RATES OF PAY.—To the extent or in 

20 the amounts provided in advance in appropria21 tion Acts, members of the Task Force shall 

22 each be entitled to receive the daily equivalent 

23 of the minimum annual rate of basic pay for 

24 grade GS–12 of the General Schedule for each 

25 day (including travel time) during which such 


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1 members are engaged in the actual performance 

2 of duties vested in the Task Force. 

3 (B) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF

4 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the Task 

5 Force who are full-time officers or employees of 

6 the United States may not receive additional 

7 pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their 

8 service on the Task Force. 

9 (4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 

10 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

11 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

12 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

13 States Code. 

14 (5) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

15 the Task Force shall constitute a quorum. 

16 (6) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

17 Task Force shall be elected by the members of the 

18 Task Force. The term of office of the Chairperson 

19 shall be 2 years. If the position of Chairperson be20 comes vacant, the members of the Task Force shall 

21 select a new Chairperson not later than 30 days 

22 after the date on which the position became vacant. 

23 (7) MEETINGS.—The Task force shall meet not 

24 less frequently than twice a quarter. 


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1 (8) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Task Force may 

2 form subcommittees, which shall meet as often as re3 quired. 

4 (d) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS; STAFF OF FED5 ERAL AGENCIES.— 

6 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the 

7 approval of the Task Force, the Chairperson may 

8 procure temporary and intermittent services under 

9 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (2) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re11 quest of the Chairperson, the head of any Federal 

12 department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable 

13 basis, any of the personnel of that department or 

14 agency to the Task Force to assist it in carrying out 

15 its duties under this Act. 

16 (e) REPORTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of the first meeting of the Task Force, and 

19 not less frequently than once every 2 years there20 after or until the dissolution of the Task Force, the 

21 Task Force shall submit to the Secretary, to the 

22 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

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1 ate, a report that includes the information in para2 graph (2). 

3 (2) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—The reports sub4 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include each of the 

5 following: 

6 (A) The condition of public school trans7 portation in the United States, including any 

8 disparities in the supply of public school bus 

9 drivers on the basis of— 

10 (i) geographic location (or urban or 

11 rural status) of a public school or local 

12 educational agency; and 

13 (ii) demographic characteristics of en14 rolled students or their families, includ15 ing— 

16 (I) race and ethnicity; 

17 (II) foreign-born and English as 

18 a second language status; 

19 (III) income and wealth; 

20 (IV) age; and 

21 (V) disability status. 

22 (B) A root-cause analysis of the trends in 

23 the supply of public school bus drivers over the 

24 20-year period preceding the date of enactment 

25 of this Act. 


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1 (C) A comprehensive examination of com2 pensation for public school bus drivers includ3 ing— 

4 (i) salary or hourly earnings; 

5 (ii) offered hours of work per week; 

6 (iii) summer employment, or access to 

7 unemployment insurance; 

8 (iv) retirement savings; and 

9 (v) health care insurance. 

10 (D) Consideration of working conditions 

11 for public school bus drivers including— 

12 (i) student discipline and behavior; 

13 (ii) personal safety; and 

14 (iii) school bus temperatures and ven15 tilation. 

16 (E) Consideration of the impact of privat17 ization on the public school transportation sys18 tem. 

19 (F) Recommendations to address and al20 leviate any disparities or shortages in the sup21 ply of public school bus drivers identified under 

22 subparagraphs (A) through (E), including areas 

23 for executive action and areas for legislative ac24 tion at the Federal and State level, and guidVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Oct 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9733.IH H9733

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1 ance for State educational agencies and local 

2 educational agencies. 

3 SEC. 3. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT. 

4 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

6 States, shall submit to Congress and make publicly avail7 able, a report that identifies recommended changes at the 

8 Federal executive and legislative levels to address any dis9 parities or shortages in the supply of public school bus 

10 drivers. 

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

14 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘parent’’, ‘‘sec15 ondary school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, and ‘‘State educational 

16 agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec17 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

19 (2) PUBLIC SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘public 

20 school’’ means— 

21 (A) a public elementary school; and 

22 (B) a public secondary school. 

Æ 


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