TRENTON – Senators Jim Beach and Linda Greenstein and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle have introduced legislation that would augment criminal background checks for school bus personnel to include all adults given responsibility for the safety of school children, closing a loophole that had left bus aides free from scrutiny.
The measure also would enhance penalties against any employee found tampering with a school bus’ on-board monitoring device.
Beach said the changes were spurred in part by last year’s arrest of a Waterford School District bus aide on allegations that he had repeatedly molested a young girl. While the accused did not have a criminal record, Beach said the incident highlighted the loophole that left bus aides out from the background check requirements.