NSTA Advocacy in Action: Under the Hood Permanence Prospects Get Congressional Assist

The quest to make the Under the Hood testing requirement exemption permanent took another step forward as U.S. Rep. John Carter (TX-31) introduced H.R. 8041 on April 17, 2024.

The bill provides for an extension of the existing exemption from the Pre-Trip Under the Hood testing requirement for school bus drivers. The bill outlines that “the Secretary of Transportation shall issue such regulations as are necessary to extend the exemption from the pre-trip vehicle skills testing component for Commercial Drivers License test candidates for the intra-state operation of school buses of the Department of Transportation titled Commercial Driver's License: Application for Exemption; National School Transportation Association, issued on October 27, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 65114), until November 27, 2027.”

Additionally, this initiative calls for public comments on further extension of exemption by requiring that not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit public comments on the feasibility and potential benefits of granting an exemption of unlimited duration.

As you can see, this measure has taken this National School Transportation Association initiative forward by bringing the focus into the Congressional arena, and the early response has been quite significant. Among the co-sponsors that Congressman Carter has attracted include Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC-05), Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04), Rep. Jason Smith (MO-08), Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Rep. GT Thompson (PA-15), Rep. David Valadao (CA-22), Rep. Pete Sessions (TX-17), Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02), Rep. Jake Ellzey (TX-06), and Rep. Nathaniel Moran (TX-01).

That’s an impressive list considering that the bill has been around for less than one month, and I think that’s testament to the fact that NSTA has been the only organization offering a solution as the effects of the bus driver shortage still linger. It’s also an opportunity for the NSTA Advocacy Team to point out that the group is using different policy solutions to make the Under the Hood Exemption a reality.

Previously, NSTA worked with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to craft three different UTH waivers – each lasting for a period of 90-days. While those waivers were adopted on a time limited basis, we received feedback that motor vehicle agencies around the country were reluctant to adopt the waiver because of the limited time duration involved. Some said that the upgrade to information technology systems precluded them from acting, which represented a position that we understood.

To rectify that situation, NSTA filed an application for a full five-year UTH Testing requirement exemption with FMCSA in April 2022, and we were officially notified by the Agency that our application was approved on October 27, 2022 – but only two-years in duration.

In March, NSTA once again as the November 2024 exemption deadline approached, we once again applied to FMCSA, and in this case we asked that the agency give us the full five-year exemption, so it would not expire until November 2027. In taking these multiple steps, NSTA always believed that the issue would gain traction, and with this latest announcement, we have been proven correct in our assumption.

Over time, we have seen support come from many different angles, including both public and private operators, school administrators, and parent groups. As we have continued to promote this initiative from multi-approach standpoint, it is good to see that our list of advocates continues to grow.

If you are looking for more information about how you can become part of the solution, please reach out to us at info@yellowbuses.org. Remember, with NSTA, you never travel alone.