Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha Way

Guidance on Designating CDL-Exempt Drivers

Designating Drivers for Student Transportation pursuant to P.L. 2024, c.81 for the 2025-2026 School Year

P.L.2024, c.81 amended N.J.S.A. 18A:39-20.1 to allow a board of education, governing body of a nonpublic school, or State agency (hereinafter referred to as “school district” or “board of education”) to designate school personnel who are not licensed as school bus drivers to transport students between home and school in a private or district-owned vehicle that has a maximum capacity of eight or fewer passengers (excluding the driver). The law instructs the Commissioner of Education to make certain policy determinations necessary for school districts to implement its requirements. For the school years 2026-2027 and beyond, those determinations will be made via rulemaking; for the 2025-2026 school year, those determinations are detailed in this document.

Notes:

  1. P.L.2024, c.81 does not impact requirements regarding transportation to and from related school activities under N.J.S.A. 18A:39-20.1.

  2. The Department’s proposed regulations were published for public comment in the New Jersey Register on June 16, 2025. Following public comment, the proposed regulations must be adopted by the State Board of Education in order to go into effect. Therefore, the regulations will not be enacted before the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

Submission of Statutorily-Required Information to the Executive County Superintendent

Under the law, participating school districts must submit the following to the Executive County Superintendent by a date set by the Commissioner of Education:

  • The district’s list of designated drivers;
  • Evidence of appropriate automobile insurance requirements for the vehicle that will be driven; and
  • The designated driver’s driving record showing no alcohol- or drug-related motor vehicle violations or any other motor vehicle violations that would disqualify the driver’s eligibility of transporting school children pursuant to Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.

For the 2025-2026 school year, school districts must submit the above information to the Executive County Superintendent by August 22, 2025. Per the law, only school personnel submitted by that date will be eligible to transport students to and from school.

The law further requires school district boards of education to submit copies of the designated personnel’s driving record showing no disqualifying violations to the Executive County Superintendent at a frequency set by the Commissioner of Education. For the 2025-2026 school, districts must submit the required records monthly.

Statutory Driver and Vehicle Requirements

For the 2025-2026 school year, designated drivers and vehicles must meet the following criteria specified in the law.

Designated drivers shall not be required to be licensed or regulated as a school bus driver. Drivers must:

  1. be at least 21 years of age;
  2. possess a New Jersey driver’s license for a minimum of three years;
  3. have a completed physical on file with the LEA;
  4. have completed a criminal history background check by the New Jersey Department of Education and a Child Abuse Record Information check;
    1. Tutorials for obtaining CARI checks can be found on the CARI Tutorials webpage under the NJ Department of Children and Families.
    2. Additional guidance from the NJ Department of Children and Families can be found under the Resources section of the NJDOE’s Student Transportation page.
  5. submit a driving record for the past five years demonstrating evidence of no alcohol- or drug-related motor vehicle violations; and
  6. have completed the training program established in accordance with P.L.2015, c.123 (C.18A:39-19.2 et seq.) on appropriate procedures for interacting with students with special needs.

Vehicles must not exceed a maximum seating capacity of eight passengers, excluding the driver, and must have automobile liability insurance for bodily injury and property damage in a minimum amount of $1.5 million combined single limit per occurrence for all vehicles used for this purpose. Transportation shall be exempt from all registration, equipment, inspection, and maintenance requirements imposed on the transportation of pupils by a school bus.

Questions

Questions regarding the implementation of P.L.2024, c.81 should be submitted to the Office of Student Transportation at student.trans@doe.nj.gov or the Office of School Bus Safety at officeofschoolbussafety@doe.nj.gov.