Local Bus Policy 6301 Enforced in Watauga County

November 14, 2025. Watauga High School Bus Lot, where buses are currently able to take students to and from school due to the enforcement of Policy 6301. Photo Credits: Sofia Peviani 

Sofia Peviani, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

A policy written years ago suddenly became the center of controversy this year, as Watauga County schools confronted a harsh reality: there weren’t enough bus drivers to get students to school. With more than 1000 students relying on buses as a form of transportation, the district had to enforce a long-unenforced rule: Policy 6301.

“We have a little over 1,100 students in our district that do ride buses, and so they're dependent on the bus to get them to school. It would have been a real hardship on families if we were having to park buses left and right,”  said school superintendent Dr. Leslie Alexander.  “If you're a working parent, or maybe you're a family that doesn't have a vehicle, families rely on our school system buses to get their kids to and from school.” 

The shortage in school bus transportation has been a rising issue. However, this isn’t a problem unique to Watauga County. Several rural counties in the U.S struggle to hire sufficient drivers. Driving a bus isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Drivers need a CDL permit which requires training, testing and ongoing certifications, with inflexible hours, not everyone is willing to go through this process.

“Over the last couple of years, we really struggled with getting bus drivers and we'd have buses that we were about to have to park with no drivers available. A lot of our positions have to be filled with another role, because you have to work a certain number of hours to get benefits,” Dr. Alexander said. “So we had to tighten up our procedures to make sure people filling these roles were getting their CDL.” 

On March 14, 2005, Classified Staff Bus Driving Requirements as Policy 6301 was adopted. However, until April 15 2025, there had been minimal enforcement. The policy states: “All full-time school-based classified staff medically qualified to drive a school bus will have the obligation to do so, as specified in this policy, for the first fifteen years of employment with the Watauga County Schools.”

“The policy in and of itself has actually been around for a while. The reason the policy exists is because we are required to provide transportation to our students,” said Dr. Alexander. “If you're a district that accepts transportation dollars from the state, you're required to provide transportation to students.”

With the number of students who ride buses in Watauga County, it can be difficult to ensure all of them have a way to get home. This is why all classified staff are required to hold a license. Through this policy, Watauga has solved its shortage in transportation and filled up all routes.

“Currently, we do have all of our bus routes covered, so the policy is showing that it is being helpful to get us to where we need to make sure we get kids to school,” Dr. Alexander said,  “With our classified staff, once they are clocked out of their job, they could drive a bus and not fall behind on their other responsibilities.”

The policy additionally considers limitations such health issues: “In the event that a required school site-based classified employee becomes temporarily or permanently incapable of driving a school bus with reasonable accommodation due to a medical condition diagnosed by a licensed physician, the employee will be excused from driving responsibilities unless such action would pose an undue burden to the Watauga County Schools.” 

However, some still argue about the burden it puts on the staff whose responsibility now extends to transportation. Despite this, Dr. Alexander has made sure to work with support systems to provide aid to anyone who faced challenges with the enforcement of the old policy.

“There were some challenges that came up when the policy was enforced, like the staff that can’t drive because of medical concerns,” said Dr. Alexander. “We worked with our legal team to make sure we were implementing the policy fairly and tried to find positions where they could keep their job but not have to drive a bus.”

Though Classified Staff Bus Driving Requirements through Policy 6301 brought up controversies and heated debates, it has ensured WCS students get home safely and are able to attend school consistently. 

“Anytime you make a policy change, you make the policy change because it’s what’s best for kids, but then you do the best you can with the people it’s going to impact to try to find a win-win if you can,” said Dr. Alexander.