The bill, by Lafayette Democrat Rickey Hardy, is inspired by the infamous case of LPSS driver Kenny Mire. A bill that would end tenure for Lafayette Parish School System bus drivers will be debated before the full House Thursday. HB 565 by Rep. Rickey Hardy, D-Lafayette, grandfathers in drivers currently employed by LPSS, but blocks tenure for drivers hired on or after July 1, 2010. According to Hardy's office, Louisiana is the only state in the union to grant tenure to bus drivers.
Hardy's bill is inspired by the case of LPSS bus driver Kenny Joseph Mire, who last September was arrested for driving his personal vehicle while registering a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit. Mire's arrest occurred just hours before he got behind the wheel of his school bus and transported students. Mire's case is detailed in the Oct. 14, 2009 cover story, "Asleep at the Wheel."
Click here to read a pdf version of Hardy's bill.