Amid the school bus shortage problem, students are suffering as they reach home late after school in Iowa.
"Two obvious reasons this is happening 1) DOT made additional requirements to be certified; even as a license Class A CDL driver, still there are additional requirements & endorsement. 2) mask requirement. I was going to certify & drive this year, but I won't wear a mask while driving. No thanks," Matt Hills said in a Nov. 25 Facebook post.
The bus shortage has led to some students getting home 15 to 30 minutes after the scheduled time, KCCI reported. Some districts have seen an increase in enrollment, and buses cannot keep the demand.
The school driver shortage is not particular to Iowa. It is happening nationwide, KCRG reported.
Some districts have had to decrease the number of routes while others are trying to change who qualifies for bus rides. Lynn Meadows of the Johnston School District mentioned that some solutions had been brought to the board, but none of them have been approved yet.
"The board is not too receptive to this because it would put some students on the bus as early as 6:22 in the morning and some students home as late as 5 p.m.," Meadows said, according to KCCI.
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