ST. PAUL – State Rep. Eric Lucero participated in the Second Annual School Bus Driver Appreciation Day ceremony Wednesday held at Mainline Transportation in Golden Valley. Rep. Lucero is a former school bus driver and was invited to speak at the event.
“Thank you to all the professional school bus drivers who are the first and last points of contact many children have with the education system each day,” Lucero said. “Minnesota's great school bus drivers often go unrecognized despite the high trust we put in them to transport our most precious assets, our children.”
Feb. 28 was proclaimed School Bus Driver Appreciation Day in Minnesota and school districts across the state celebrated by passing out student-made thank you cards and providing food and beverages to bus drivers.
“Minnesota’s school bus drivers are humble heroes who serve our community and often go unrecognized which is why recognition ceremonies such as this event are so important because driving a school bus is an honorable profession,” Lucero said. “I’ve had the honor of being a school bus driver and it brought me so much joy to help kids start and end their day with a smile.”
In 2017 Rep. Lucero chief authored school bus safety legislation that successfully passed and was signed into law creating a misdemeanor penalty for anyone not authorized to board a school bus and refuses to leave if directed to do so. The new law closed a previous loophole in state statute regarding trespassing but now ensures school bus drivers are empowered with the authority to direct a person not authorized to be on a school bus to exit.
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State Rep. Eric Lucero attending the Second Annual School Bus Driver Appreciation Day with Bethany Schubert, Vice President of Trobec's Bus Service located in St. Cloud.