School Bus Driver

Job Description

2026-27 School Year

Purpose Statement
The job of Bus Driver was established for the purpose/s of providing support within the student transportation services area with specific responsibilities for ensuring students are safely, efficiently and timely transported over scheduled routes and/or to/from special excursions; operating vehicle in a safe manner, vehicle is in safe operating condition; and ensuring safety of students during transport, loading and unloading from buses.
This job reports to the Assistant Director of Transportation.

School Bus Candidate Selection/Training
The process for becoming a School Bus Driver for the Lee’s Summit School District is a three-step process:

• Interview Stage
• Phone Interview
• In-Person Interview
• Training Stage
• Permitting – self-study typically takes 2-3 days
• Licensing – District provided on-site training, training pay starts
• Transporting Students
• Final safety checks and clearance

Once training is complete, candidates become eligible for benefits if a full-time position is available.

Essential Functions

• Ability to maintain and enforce safe and appropriate behavior of all riders in accordance with established guidelines to ensure passenger safety.
• Ability to memorize student names and associate names with faces to ensure safe, correct and timely transportation of students.
• Ability to make timely, efficient and correct decisions with little to no supervision to meet the needs of the students under various situations while ensuring student safety.
• Ability to safely maneuver school bus through confined streets and unfamiliar areas.
• Ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with teachers, administrators, parents and other staff members to maintain a safe compassionate environment including the implementation of behavior and bus plans for students.
• Ability to interact in a positive manner with students and model appropriate behavior.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of student records and other information shared about students.
• Ability to recognize, evaluate and respond to incidents, complaints, accidents and/or potential emergency situations (e.g. road hazards, student behavior issues, medical emergencies, accidents, etc.) for the purpose of resolving and/or recommending a resolution to the situation.
• Ability to train and work with students and other passengers for the purpose of encouraging and reinforcing safe loading and unloading from buses during normal transport and emergency situations.
• Attend Meetings, In-Service Training, Workshops, etc. for the purpose of gathering information and staying up to date on required knowledge to perform job functions.
• Effectively inform school personnel and parents of events, policies and/or practices (e.g. scheduled stops, established routes, route conditions, etc.) for the purpose of providing information and/or clarification of procedures.
• Maintain a clean, sanitary environment of school bus for the purpose of providing a safe environment for passengers.
• Responsibilities may include the following:
• • Perform daily pre-trip inspection before leaving the lot
  • Regulate heating, lighting, and ventilating systems for passenger comfort
  • Comply with local traffic regulations
  • Accurately complete required student reports, etc. in a timely manner
  • Ability to follow all oral and written instructions given by supervisors and dispatchers
• Maintain and enforce student discipline and safe riding behavior
• Follow all regulations outlined in the current Driver Instruction Manual
• Respond appropriately to all standard road signs and instructions
• Prepare accurate and timely reports (e.g. field trips reports, incident reports, inspections records, passenger misconduct, mileage logs, student counts, routing information, etc.) for the purpose of documenting activities, providing written reference, conveying information, and/or complying with established guidelines.

Other Functions

• As assigned to operate Specialized routes:
• • Flexible in changing assignments and duties with little to no notice
  • Exceptional attendance
  • Ability to work with students with behavior, medical, ambulatory and other special needs
  • Ability to deal with daily stressors such as inappropriate verbal and physical behaviors
  • Ability to provide escort service as required
  • Ability to operate specialized equipment such as wheelchair lifts
  • Ability to safely utilize various child safety restraint systems (CSRS) including wheel chair securements
• As assigned to operate in a stand-by capacity:
• • Familiar with district streets and roads
  • Familiar with individual school loading/unloading operations district-wide
  • Exceptional student management skills
  • Ability to stay calm in high stress situations
  • Ability to operate safely in unfamiliar areas with little support
  • Ability to shift from various assignments with little to no notice
  • Ability to work extended hours with little to no notice
  • Ability to operate all buses in fleet
  • Ability to serve as a Bus Aide when and as needed
• As assigned to operate Field/Activity trips and other various non-route…