Occupational Health Services 

Physical Qualifications for School Bus Drivers in the State of Virginia 

School Bus drivers in the state of Virginia are required to provide a specific physical form required under the provision of Section 22.1-178 of the Code of Virginia and Regulations of the Board of Education. 

The following is a summary of the Physical Qualifications for School Bus Drivers: 

1. No person shall drive a school bus unless that person is physically qualified to do so and has submitted a School Bus Driver's Application for Physician's Certificate signed by the applicant and the doctor for the applicable employment period. 

2. A person is physically qualified to drive a school bus if the individual: 

a. Has no loss of a foot, a leg, a hand, or an arm which interferes with the ability to control and safely drive a school bus without reasonable accommodations; 

b. Has no impairment of the use of a foot, a leg, a hand, finger, or an arm and no other structural defect of limitation likely to interfere with the ability to control and safely drive a school bus without reasonable accommodations; 

c. Has no known medical history or clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus currently requiring insulin for control likely to interfere with the ability to control and safely drive a school bus without reasonable accommodations; 

d. Has no current clinical diagnosis of myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, coronary insufficiency, thrombosis, or any other cardiovascular disease of a variety known to be accompanied by syncope, dyspnea, collapse, or congestive cardiac failure; 

e. Has no known medical history or clinical diagnosis of a respiratory dysfunction likely to interfere with the ability to control and drive a school bus safely without reasonable accommodations; 

f. Has no known medical history or clinical diagnosis of high blood pressure likely to interfere with the ability to operate a school bus safely without reasonable accommodations; 

g. Has no known medical history or clinical diagnosis of rheumatic, arthritic, orthopedic, muscular, neuromuscular, or vascular disease which would interfere with the ability to control and operate a school bus safely without reasonable accommodations;

h. Has no know medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a school bus without reasonable accommodations; 

i. Has no known mental, nervous, organic, or functional disease or psychiatric disorder likely to interfere with the ability to drive a school bus safely without reasonable accommodations; 

j. Has both distant and near visual acuity of at least 20/40 (snellen) in each eye with or without corrective lenses, and field of vision of at least 90 degrees in the horizontal meridaian in each eye, and the ability to recognize the colors of traffic signals and devices showing standard red, green, and amber. 

k. First perceived a forced-whisper voice in the better ear at not less than 5 feet with or without the use of a hearing aid or, if tested by use of an audiometric device, does not have an average hearing loss in the better ear greater than 40 decibels at 500Hz, 1,000Hz and 2,000Hz with or without a hearing aid when the audiometric device is calibrated to American National Standard (formerly ASA Standard) z24.5-1951 and does not use an amphetamine, narcotic, or any habit forming drugs without appropriate physician supervision.