School System Plans ID Badges for Bus Drivers

Carroll County Public School (CCPS) bus drivers are not currently required to wear any type of identification badges. A public school official said that they are working towards an ID system for bus drivers.

Director of the Carroll County Public Schools Transportation Office, Michael J. Hardesty, said that Carroll County is predominately a contractor-based bus system with more than 60 different bus contractors.

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Although bus drivers are trained and certified by CCPS, Hardesty said the individual drivers are employees of their respective contractors.

"The challenge for us is to create identification cards for the over 450 certified school bus drivers and bus assistants and then keep up with the many changes that occur throughout a normal school year, such as resignations, change of employment, new hires, etc.," Hardesty said. 

"That being said, we do intend to work towards providing some type of I.D. for all drivers and assistants," he said.

Hardesty said he believes that many public-owned systems provide some type of identification. But he said there are other contractor-based systems that face the same challenges as Carroll County.

David Ramsay, director of Howard County Public Schools Transportation Office, said that bus drivers and assistants are provided with an identification badge.

"We issue yellow badges for each bus that states: Howard County Public School System School Bus Personnel," Ramsay said.

Ramsay said that bus drivers and assistants are expected to carry their badges when entering school buildings, so that staff can identify their affiliation with the school system. 

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