An Act To Strengthen the School Transportation Workforce
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §5403 is enacted to read:
§ 5403. Fund for Transportation Training
1. Fund created. The Fund for Transportation Training, referred to in this section as "the fund," is created to assist in financing the cost of local and regional training for public school bus drivers. The fund is a dedicated, nonlapsing account within the department.
2. Use of fund. The department shall award grants from the fund to school administrative units for training developed and delivered by them to school bus drivers between academic years.
3. Sources of money. The fund consists of amounts appropriated or allocated by the State and any gifts or grants made to the department for the purpose of deposit in the fund.
4. Rules. The department may adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §1192, sub-§7, ¶B, as amended by PL 1983, c. 13, §7, is further amended to read:
B. With respect to weeks of unemployment beginning after September 3, 1982, in any other capacity for an educational institution, benefits shall may not be paid on the basis of those services to any individual for any week which that commences during a period between 2 successive academic years or terms if the individual performs those services in the first of the academic years or terms and there is annual written reasonable assurance that the individual will perform the services in the 2nd of that those academic year years or terms; except that if benefits are denied to any individual under this paragraph and the individual was not offered an opportunity to perform the services for the educational institution for the 2nd of those academic years or terms, the individual shall be is entitled to a retroactive payment of benefits for each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for benefits and for which benefits were denied solely by reason of this paragraph . Notwithstanding this paragraph, a school bus driver employed by a school administrative unit as defined in Title 20-A, section 1, subsection 26 may be paid on the basis of services rendered in a prior academic year;
summary
This bill allows public school bus drivers to collect unemployment benefits over the summer. It also creates a nonlapsing fund to award grants to school administrative units for training for school bus drivers between academic years.