Bill > S1746

Introduced Session

This bill requires school bus drivers to submit to mental health evaluations. State and federal law prohibit a person from operating a commercial motor vehicle unless the person is physically qualified to operate the vehicle. Current law requires a person who is the holder of, or applicant for, both a passenger and school bus endorsement to provide proof of physical fitness to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission in the form of a medical examination and accompanying medical certificate completed by a medical examiner listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. Current law further requires school bus drivers to submit to: 1) a medical exam for the presence of certain substances under the "New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act"; and 2) hearing and visual acuity tests that are in accordance with the provisions of federal law. This bill requires that, in addition to any other exam required by law, all drivers of buses or other vehicles used by a board of education or a private or parochial school for the transportation of pupils to and from school submit to a mental health evaluation performed by a State-licensed mental health professional prior to employment as a school bus driver, and upon application for renewal of a school bus driver's license. The mental health evaluation is to include an assessment of the individual's moral fitness and whether the individual exhibits deviant social behavior as determined by the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

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Parker Space (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document