Virginia Governor Ralph S. Northam

WHEREAS, the health and safety of all Virginia children is essential to the happiness and well-being of the Commonwealth’s families, teachers, and communities; and

WHEREAS, student transportation administrators and operators remain diligent in their efforts to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of thousands of students in Virginia on a daily basis, and their efforts are critical to the operation of our public and private schools; and

WHEREAS, because of the precious cargo that travel on school buses, being a professional school transportation employee is in large part about safety, training and enthusiasm; and

WHEREAS, school buses are designed and constructed with numerous safety features, such as the specific color yellow, reflective tape, strobe lights, crossing arms, and the eight light traffic system; and

WHEREAS, school bus drivers adhere to the highest standards of school bus safety through rigorous driver training and certification requirements; and

WHEREAS, the cooperation and caution of the public is necessary to maintain the safety of Virginia's children and one of the ways in which this can be accomplished is by motorists complying with traffic signals and by stopping when students are boarding and exiting a school bus; and

WHEREAS, in many cases, school buses are the only means of transportation to and from school for many students, which has a direct impact on student punctuality and attendance; and

WHEREAS, school bus transportation employees should be recognized for their diligence in safely transporting the school children of the Commonwealth of Virginia;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Ralph S. Northam, do hereby recognize October 19-23, 2020, as NATIONAL SCHOOL BUS SAFETY WEEK and October 21, 2020, as SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEES APPRECIATION DAY in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.