In the State of Kansas privately employed school bus drivers are not allowed to collect unemployment benefits during extended holidays and during the summer recess between school years (pursuant to K.S.A. 44-706(p), adopted into Kansas law in 1987). This occurs even though our private, for-profit, employer pays into the Federal and State unemployment insurance fund. Yes, our employer pays unemployment insurance but school bus drivers cannot collect unemployment insurance. Unemployment insurance taxation without benefits. Amazing!

The State of Kansas uses the "Reasonable Assurance" argument to deny unemployment benefits to school bus drivers. Kansas state law provides, employees who provide services to or on behalf of an educational institution may be denied unemployment compensation. This applies to individuals working in the following three categories of employment as related to education: employees of an educational institution; employees of an educational service agency; and, if the state law provides, employees who provide services to, or on behalf of, an educational institution. Under federal law, any employee in one of these categories may not be paid unemployment compensation between academic terms if that employee has "reasonable assurance" of performing service in the following term. Private industry employees such as privately contracted custodial and food service workers, who provide services to educational institutions are not denied unemployment benefits between academic terms or school years. Private industry school bus monitors who work for the same private industry school bus contractor as school bus drivers, and who ride on the exact same buses being driven by the school bus drivers are not subject to the same denial of unemployment benefits.

Reasonable Assurance applies to educational institution employees and educational service agencies (as defined by the U.S. Dept of Education - "an educational service agency is a regional public multiservice agency (not a private organization) that is authorized by state law to develop, manage, and provide services or programs to local education agencies, such as public school districts"). Educational institutions and educational service agencies are not subject to Federal or State unemployment taxes but private school bus driver employers are subject to these taxes.

In the State of Kansas unemployment guidelines, school bus drivers are singled out as not eligible for unemployment benefits during school holidays and summer break. As a result school bus drivers are subjected to serious financial hardships during extended school holidays and summer breaks.

There are approximately 309 school districts in the State of Kansas. It is estimated by the Kansas Department of Education that in the 2018-2019 school year 491,674 public school students were enrolled in K-12. With an average of 55% of those students riding daily on a school bus, school bus drivers will transport over 270,000 students to and from schools across Kansas every day. Being a school bus driver is a very rewarding career. In Kansas, school bus drivers must pass extensive and ongoing driver training, recurring DMV background checks, fingerprinting and extensive background checks. Each school bus is a unique community of students. On a daily basis a school bus driver must interact with that community and be able to manage problem students, special needs students, students with medical issues, students with emotional issues, bullying, drugs, weapons, weather/road condition issues as well as managing the school bus on the roadways shared with an ever increasing distracted driver population. Even with all of that, we love and care for our students and strive to deliver them to and from school safely each day in a caring, nourishing and safe environment.

Many states currently allow privately employed school bus drivers to receive unemployment benefits including the surrounding states of Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. Kansas needs to follow these states and become a more worker friendly state for school bus drivers.

Currently in the State legislature there are pending two revisions to the unemployment issues faced by school bus drivers. Kansas Senate Bill 38 and House Bill 2148.

We the undersigned urge our members of the Kansas Senate and Kansas House of Representatives, and the Governour' office, to vote to pass SB38 and HB2148 thereby correcting the unfair discrimination practices directed at Kansas school bus drivers relative to unemployment insurance benefits.