Check of bus drivers reveals problems

COLUMBUS (AP) — State officials say background checks on school bus drivers have revealed drivers with invalid licenses and prior arrest records.

Since September, data shows the checks have found 34 drivers who had been arrested and 21 others with lapsed or suspended driver’s licenses.

State and local officials ordered the checks after Columbus Public Schools canceled classes for a day last January because a private contractor discovered it had not done complete criminal background checks on all drivers.

An subsequent investigation by The Columbus Dispatch uncovered more than 150 school-bus drivers throughout central, eastern and southeastern Ohio who had been convicted of drug and alcohol offenses.