HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — In August, Cleveland ISD had two major school bus crashes carrying dozens of students.
So ABC13 started to look into what kind of training is required at school districts across our area and how shortages could be affecting it.
Some say school bus drivers are essential in order to keep the well-oiled machine of schools running.
13 Investigates found through data most of the largest school districts in our region are suffering from school bus driver shortages.
On a breezy Tuesday morning in Alvin, Alvin ISD school bus trainer Ron Roswell gave us a peek into their wheelhouse.
“Go ahead and close your door, put your foot on the brake, and release the parking brake,” Roswell said. “We want to make sure they’re safe on the road and they’re safe for our students.”
Roswell tells ABC13 before new hires get this hands-on training. There’s a list of things to do, from getting their entry-level driver training permits to doing a prep class.
But then comes the challenge of learning how to drive a more than two-dozen-foot-long vehicle.
Alvin ISD Transportation Executive Director Greg Bingham says training is essential, even if it takes months.
“Statistically, kids are most in danger in that time to and from school,” Bingham said. “So, having good people behind the wheel is very important for our kids.”
According to school district records, Alvin ISD has 140 school bus drivers on the road. Bingham says they’re about 85% staffed as of November.
“We do struggle still, but we have more drivers than I think other places,” Bingham said.
Last month, 13 Investigates asked the 24 largest school districts in our region about staffing and found most are down on bus drivers. Some as high as 74 like Spring Branch ISD. CyFair ISD is down 29, and Katy ISD is down 31.
The largest school district in Texas, Houston ISD, says it’s fully staffed with 592 school bus drivers.
Klein ISD says they’re also fully staffed and have a wait list of trained drivers waiting for openings.
“We may be full, but I certainly want all the folks around us to be full as well,” Director of Transportation at Klein ISD John Fergerson said.
Fergerson says safety is the most important thing for them.
“We don’t transport boxes. We transport probably the most precious cargo that’s known on this earth, that’s our children,” Fergerson said.
He says 22,000 students ride the bus in Klein ISD every day.
“So I always like to say it’s like taking Nacogdoches and moving it twice daily…and we do that AM and PM every single day,” said Fergerson.
A massive feat for all districts daily as they recruit the best people for the job and train them until they’re certified and comfortable behind the wheel.
Stats pulled and calculated in October 2025
- Houston ISD – 592 fully staffed
- Cypress-Fairbanks ISD – 715 out of 744
- Fort Bend ISD: 216 out of 296
- Klein ISD: 279 fully staffed
- Humble ISD: 191 out of 201
- Lamar CISD: 254 out of 270
- Clear Creek ISD: 178 out of 191
- Alief ISD: 249 out of 277
- Spring Branch ISD: 115 out of 189
- Alvin ISD: 140 out of 165
- Goose Creek ISD: 171 out of 212
- Pearland ISD: 113 out of 119
- Galena Park ISD: No answer
- Dickinson ISD: 99 out of 107
- Deer Park ISD: 59 out of 63
- Brazosport ISD: 37 out of 38
- Cleveland ISD: 105 out of 107
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