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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Each school day more than 1,100,000 children from
3 public and private schools are transported to and from school
4 in school buses in cities, towns, and suburbs across the State
5 of Illinois; and
 
6     WHEREAS, School bus drivers additionally transport over
7 18,000 pre-kindergarten pupils and over 300,000 pupils on field
8 trips; and
 
9     WHEREAS, School bus drivers travel each year over
10 122,000,000 miles on regular routes, 4,200,000 miles of field
11 trip routes, 3,700,000 miles of vocational routes, and
12 8,800,000 miles of special education routes; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The safety and well-being of these children are of
14 utmost concern to all Illinois parents; school administrators
15 entrust school bus drivers with the welfare of these children;
16 the position of a school bus driver requires tremendous
17 responsibility; they have to maneuver through traffic
18 regardless of road conditions while maintaining the conduct of
19 children on the bus and are looked to for leadership and
20 life-saving decision-making in the event of an emergency; and
 
21     WHEREAS, School bus drivers direct children while they are

 

 

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1 exiting the bus at their destination and when an adult who is
2 normally at a bus stop to meet a child is not present, the bus
3 driver will keep that child in their safe care until adult
4 supervision is located or the child can be returned to school;
5 school bus drivers are able to observe any suspicious activity
6 or people along their bus route and communicate that
7 information to proper authorities; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The National Safety Council has documented the far
9 smaller number of accidents and fatalities per capita on school
10 buses than in automobiles; and
 
11     WHEREAS, There are over 29,000 licensed school bus drivers
12 in the State of Illinois, operating approximately 30,000
13 registered school buses; therefore, be it
 
14     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
16 declare October 22, 2010, and each year thereafter, as School
17 Bus Driver Appreciation Day in the State of Illinois as a
18 tribute to the hard work and dedication of the men and women
19 who provide a safe ride to school for our children.