The law goes into effect on Aug. 15, 2010. The previous statute allowed for only a one-year suspension of a bus driver's CDL, though almost certainly school districts would respond to arrests with an automatic termination.

Another bill passed out of the senate last week but still awaiting signature would require a school bus operator to report any arrest for specified offenses involving operating a vehicle.

Meanwhile, another bill was tabled for possible future discussion on prohibiting newly hired school bus drivers from obtaining tenure. Louisiana is thought to be the only state where school bus drivers are granted nearly to the letter the same permanent employee status protection as teachers, namely that an employee must demonstrate "willful neglect of duty." This includes cursing at a parent, hitting a child, leaving a student unattended on the bus or failing to pick up a student at a stop, to be fired. Alabama also has a Fair Dismissal Act that grants many tenure-like provision to school bus drivers, but it is a differently-worded statute than the much older Alabama Tenure Law of 1941 that protects teachers.

Louisiana HB565, however, would not have affected bus drivers who currently are tenured or are on a tenure track. The Louisiana School Bus Operators Association worked with the Louisiana Federation of Teachers to oppose the bill.

Bill Whatley, an attorney for LSBOA, said the tenure law came about decades ago to protect owner-operators from being summarily fired after investing personal money and time into purchasing and maintaining school buses on their own property.