DATTCO in Bridgeport is gearing up for another school year and is in need of bus drivers. As of Thursday, there are more than 50 openings across Connecticut.

DATTCO vice president of school bus Bryony Chamberlain says you can be driving a school transportation van or serve as a bus monitor after only about three weeks of training.

Interested people will need a commercial driver license to drive the big vehicles, but new legislation has expedited background checks and prioritized CDL road tests, moving the process faster.

Chamberlain says the shortage has impacted route lengths, as well as transportation for school sports.

But she wants parents to know, their child's school bus will be waiting for them on the first day of school.

"The bus will be there to pick kids up. There might be a lot of running around in the background getting everything done, as there often is," said Chamberlain. "This has been a hard slog, trying to get as much out there in recruitment and advertising, but it's worth it. We're feeling a lot better at the start of this school year than we did last year."