ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Several changes have been made to the rules of the annual School Bus Driver International Safety Competition.

The National School Transportation Association (NSTA), which hosts the annual event, announced the changes on Tuesday.

The changes will go into effect for the 2016 competition, which will be held July 17 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The new rules are:

• Each state or province is allowed a maximum of two contestants in each school bus class not to exceed a total of six contestants per state that meets the eligibility requirements as follows:
— Transit Class: One public sector and one private sector driver for a total of two drivers.
— Conventional Class: One public sector and one private sector driver for a total of two drivers.
— Small Bus Class: One public sector and one private sector driver for a total of two drivers.

• In order to be eligible, a driver must have competed in a state or provincial competition in the school bus class they are entering in the International Competition during the last year. A public or private sector school bus driver that competes in a regional (local or multi-state) or local school bus driver safety competition is not eligible to compete in the International School Bus Driver Safety Competition.

• In states or provinces where the public and private sectors hold separate competitions, the individual with the highest score from each state or provincial competition in each school bus class will be eligible to compete.

• If a state or province has only a public sector competition they will be limited to a maximum of three public sector contestants, one from each school bus class. The same would apply to the private sector competition, a maximum of three contestants, one from each school bus class, would be eligible.

“The competition is the highlight of each year,” NSTA Executive Director Ronna Weber said. “We strive to keep the competition as safe as we possibly can, but we are also mindful that it needs to be as equitable for the private and public sectors as we can. We look forward to the 2016 competition and wish all drivers the best in their state or provincial competitions.”

Full competition rules, along with other documents for the School Bus Driver International Safety Competition, can be accessed on the NSTA website.