relative to school bus drivers' certificates.

CHAPTER 180
HB 1758 - FINAL VERSION

04/23/2026 1524s
2026 SESSION
26-2641
09/05

HOUSE BILL
1758

AN ACT
relative to school bus drivers' certificates.

SPONSORS: Rep. Oppel, Graf. 9; Rep. Giasson, Hills. 29; Rep. Fracht, Graf. 16; Rep. Damon, Sull. 8

COMMITTEE: Transportation

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill provides an alternative path to obtaining a school bus driver's certificate through being currently certified as a school bus driver in a jurisdiction that the director of the division of motor vehicles determines meets or exceeds the requirements established by New Hampshire rules.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in
bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [
in brackets and struckthrough.
]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04/23/2026 1524s 26-2641
09/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT
relative to school bus drivers' certificates.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

180:1 Drivers' Licenses; School Bus Driver's Certificate. Amend RSA 263:29 to read as follows:
263:29 School Bus Driver's Certificate.

I.
The owner of any school bus or provider of school transportation vehicle services transporting children to and from any private or public school, or the owner of any bus owned or used by a religious organization or a nonprofit organization used exclusively as a bus for the transportation of its members in connection with functions of the organization, shall submit to the authorities in the town or city or to the organization which pays for said transportation a list of names of the persons who are to drive the buses or school transportation vehicles used in such transportation. Such authority shall submit the list of names to the department requesting an investigation of each driver's criminal and motor vehicle record. If such driver is found to be qualified to bear the responsibility of such transportation, the division shall cause said driver to be examined under the rules adopted pursuant to RSA 265:58. No person shall drive a school bus or school transportation vehicle unless he
or she
has satisfactorily passed the special examination for said driving
or has provided proof of being currently certified to drive a school bus in a qualifying jurisdiction
and received from the division a special school bus driver's certificate for a school bus or school transportation vehicle. The director may revoke such special school bus driver's certificate for good cause shown.

II. The director of the division of motor vehicles may evaluate the school bus driver credentialing standards, training, and testing of other states in the United States to determine which states meet or exceed the requirements established by New Hampshire rules.
III. In this section:
(a) "Qualifying jurisdiction" means any state that the director of the division of motor vehicles determines meets the standard set forth in paragraph II.
(b) "State" means any state, territory, or possession of the United States and the District of Columbia.

180:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Approved: June 19, 2026
Effective Date: August 18, 2026