HB2303: Virginia Retirement System; return to employment, report.

Legislative Summary

Virginia Retirement System; school bus drivers; return to employment. Provides that if a retired school bus driver was employed by a local school division and had a bona fide break in service of at least three months between retirement and employment as a school bus driver in a local school division that identifies and experiences a critical shortage of school bus drivers reaching a vacancy rate that exceeds 20 percent, such person is not required to establish a 12-month break in service that would otherwise be required by law. The critical shortage and vacancy rate of school bus drivers in a local school division are subject to semi-annual reevaluation to determine whether a critical shortage continues to exist and whether the vacancy rate of school bus drivers in the local school division continues to exceed 20 percent. The bill requires an affected local school division to provide an annual report to the General Assembly identifying critical shortages, vacancy rates, and employment of school bus drivers, including those reemployed out of retirement, in the prior year. The bill also requires the Secretary of Education and Secretary of Transportation to convene a work group to identify specific strategies to address bus driver shortages across Virginia local school divisions. Virginia Retirement System; school bus drivers; return to employment. Provides that if a retired school bus driver was employed by a local school division and had a bona fide break in service of at least three months between retirement and employment as a school bus driver in a local school division that identifies and experiences a critical shortage of school bus drivers reaching a vacancy rate that exceeds 20 percent, such person is not required to establish a 12-month break in service that would otherwise be required by law. The critical shortage and vacancy rate of school bus drivers in a local school division are subject to semi-annual reevaluation to determine whether a critical shortage continues to exist and whether the vacancy rate of school bus drivers in the local school division continues to exceed 20 percent. The bill requires an affected local school division to provide an annual report to the General Assembly identifying critical shortages, vacancy rates, and employment of school bus drivers, including those reemployed out of retirement, in the prior year. The bill also requires the Secretary of Education and Secretary of Transportation to convene a work group to identify specific strategies to address bus driver shortages across Virginia local school divisions.