On January 21, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order No. 13998, “Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel.” It orders “Immediate Action to Require Maskwearing on Certain Domestic Modes of Transportation.” The order took effect nationwide at 11:59 p.m. on February 1, 2021. School buses are not mentioned specifically in EO 13998, and they appear to be legally exempted under Section 5302 of title 49, United States Code (see Section 14 – Public Transportation, Subsection B, item 4) which is referenced in the EO as “all forms of transportation as defined.”

Therefore, although President Biden intended to promote safety in public travel within the United States, he left behind persons who require transport by school buses and the people that drive them. And despite the CDC issuing their order on January 30, 2021, to implement EO 13998 which includes school buses, local state departments of education and school districts are citing the original EO to continue to exempt school buses from requiring masks for their riders. In my home state of Nebraska and many other places, local administrators are choosing to ignore expert advice and guidance regarding the use of masks within school buses to protect our student population which is largely unvaccinated against COVID-19 and congregating in large numbers on buses and in schools. 

President Biden, amend Executive Order No. 13998 to include school buses in order to protect the lives our school children who rely on mass transportation for their education. In addition, withhold federal funds for school districts that do not comply with the order.