(01/12/07) WETHERSFIELD ? The new head of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles wants to shine a bright light on shady school bus drivers trying to slip through the cracks.

Commissioner Robert Ward says he wants to hold school bus drivers to the same standards as teachers. He is calling for stricter standards in driver screening, including background checks. If Ward gets his way, anyone convicted of a felony or arrested for a crime associated with child abuse or neglect would not be able to get a school bus drivers? license.

Ward plans on asking the Legislature to make the measure a state law. He also wants to make the school bus drivers? license renewal process even stricter. This will include drivers answering questions about their legal past while under oath.