HLS 20RS-518 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 20
BY REPRESENTATIVE WHITE
SCHOOLS/BUS OPERATORS: Requests that the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary
Education study the compensation schedule for school bus operators
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
3 compensation schedule for school bus operators and to submit a written report of
4 findings and conclusions, including any recommendations for related legislation, to
5 the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later
6 than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2021 Regular Session of the Legislature.
7 WHEREAS, R.S. 17:497 provides a schedule of compensation rates to be paid to
8school bus operators for the operation of school buses that is based on mileage and the length
9of the bus; and
10 WHEREAS, the schedule, which has been in place since the mid-1980s, is long
11overdue for an update reflective of the modern realities of school transportation; and
12 WHEREAS, commensurate with inflation in the price of gasoline, school bus parts,
13and mechanical costs, the costs of school bus operation have risen significantly since the
14schedule was developed; and
15 WHEREAS, considerations at the time the schedule was created, such as a drastic
16difference in the cost of operating a bus based on its length, have not come to fruition, and
17the schedule does not take into consideration that costs from year to year can vary greatly
18since materials such as tires may be replaced in a given year but may not be replaced again
19for some time; and
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HCR NO. 20
1 WHEREAS, many school bus operators are being asked to drive for extracurricular
2activities such as weekend athletic events in addition to their regular school routes, which
3puts additional wear and tear on the buses; and
4 WHEREAS, bus operators often retire with a retirement benefit that places them
5below federal poverty line, even after decades of service; and
6 WHEREAS, many school bus operators have expressed an urgent need for the
7compensation schedule to be studied and for an updated methodology to be developed in
8order to provide accurate compensation for costs incurred.
9 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
10urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
11compensation schedule for school bus operators and to submit a written report of findings
12and conclusions, including any recommendations for related legislation, to the House
13Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later than sixty days
14prior to the beginning of the 2021 Regular Session of the Legislature.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that issues the state board shall study include but
16need not be limited to an examination of whether the compensation schedule appropriately
17contemplates the cost of driving for extracurricular activities in addition to regular school
18routes.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that when conducting the study, the state board shall
20consider input from school bus operators through the collection of public comments.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
22president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
23superintendent of education.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 20 Original 2020 Regular Session White
Requests that the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education study the compensation
schedule for school bus operators and submit a written report of findings and conclusions,
including any recommendations for related legislation, to the House and Senate education
committees not later than 60 days prior to the beginning of 2021 R.S.
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