FCPS requirements to be a bus driver include having a "good driving record." The driver must also pass a physical exam, drug screen, and background check, complete a five-week training program, take the CDL road test and obtain a CDL FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS – A FCPS Spokesperson confirms they currently have 107 bus driver vacancies compared to 203 at the start of the school year.Not everyone answered the questions the same: area school districts to ask about current bus driver vacancies and how their vetting process is handled. The drivers of those buses also did not have their commercial driver’s licenses.įOX 5 checked in with local D.C. Two additional buses that stopped along with the bus Reynolds was driving were taken out of service after safety violations were found. ![]() "Is it because of a driver shortage … or is that because of oversight?" he added.ĭrunk bus driver crashes school bus in Virginia investigation into crash continuesįOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick discovered that after police arrived they found the bus driver, Troy Reynolds, did not have a commercial driver’s license and that he had a prior DWI charge. He believes both DCPS and Rome Charters LLC are responsible. Boy, how was that not caught?," said trucking consultant and expert Lew Grill. "You’ve got an unqualified driver with regard to the license. Rome Charters LLC still has not provided FOX 5 with a response to this matter. Reynolds already had a suspended license in Virginia for a previous DWI and should not have been on the road period, according to police.ĭCPS confirmed it has cut ties with Rome Charters LLC, the bus company involved. Police later learned all three drivers on the scene, including Reynolds, did not have proper commercial driver’s licenses. students on their way back from a field trip in Virginia. Last Thursday, Fairfax County police said Reynolds crashed a bus full of D.C. Murshed said that he was looking for more firm answers to his questions. Lishinski says that on Wednesday night, she asked but was told DCPS does not do background checks for the chartered bus drivers, even though it requires parent volunteers to go through one if they’re around DCPS children.ĭCPS to sever ties with chartered school bus company after driver's DWI chargeĪsked for specifics on what the school system is doing next to ensure those currently contracted by DCPS have correct commercial driver’s licenses, background checks, and safety checks, a DCPS spokesperson told FOX 5 via email: "DCPS is conducting a comprehensive and thorough review of all school transportation vendors to ensure they are up-to-date on required paperwork and licenses."īasheer Murshed, another parent at Wednesday's meeting told FOX 5 that the school district gave round-about answers regarding what they're doing next. Not wanting to get into specifics, the chancellor affirmed that DCPS is looking into this and what measures they can take in the future. The day after the bus crash, Chancellor Ferebee held a virtual news conference with members of the press, where he was repeatedly asked what oversight DCPS does have of its bus vendors. ![]() Lewis Ferebee to discuss last week’s crash and what’s happening to address the matter moving forward.Īccording to a contract found online, the bus vendor is supposed to be responsible for making sure proper background checks are conducted and drivers are properly licensed. Lishinski tells FOX 5 she was at the Wednesday night parent meeting with DCPS Schools Chancellor Dr. I actually feel a little stupid for having trusted DCPS in the first place, and putting my kid on that school bus where he could’ve died." "Now I see that actually, this is just sort of the result of DCPS’ policies. "When the accident first happened, I thought that there must have been some sort of mistake that somebody had slipped through – somebody had been fraud or something," said Ben Much Elementary School parent Amy Lishinski.
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