The California Highway Patrol is investigating claims that Hemet Unified School District allowed school bus drivers to work beyond state limits, raising concerns that driver fatigue could put students at risk.
Two complaints submitted to the CHP’s Motor Carrier Safety Unit on March 28 and April 18 by whistleblowers in the district’s transportation department allege the district repeatedly violated California rules governing school bus driver hours. The complaints say drivers were being placed behind the wheel after working excessive hours while transporting children.
The April 18 complaint, which spans 18 pages, described the alleged violations as broad and recurring, suggesting what complainants characterized as a systemic operational problem rather than isolated mistakes. Both complaints included data the reporting employees said came from Hemet Unified’s digital timekeeping system.
According to the March 28 complaint, more than 40 drivers allegedly exceeded state safety limits hundreds of times between July 2025 and March 2026. The complaint identified 247 primary violations, including 227 instances in which drivers worked between 80 and 85 hours during an eight-day period, beyond the 80-hour maximum. It also cited 19 cases in which drivers worked more than 90 hours in eight days, and 20 instances in which drivers exceeded the 16-hour on-duty limit in a single day.
The April 18 complaint alleged that at least 16 drivers worked more than 16 hours in one day between January and April. It also listed more than 100 cases from Jan. 5 through April 17 in which drivers allegedly worked more than 80 hours within a rolling eight-day period, including nine employees who reportedly surpassed 90 hours.
The April complaint warned that fatigue is a major factor in commercial vehicle crashes and said pupil transportation rules exist to prevent tired drivers from endangering children. The complainants said that if the district’s timekeeping records are accurate, Hemet Unified may be operating in a way that is unlawful and unsafe.
The complaint said its purpose was not to make legal findings, but to bring attention to the allegations, encourage accountability and prevent a serious incident tied to fatigue or dispatching practices.
CHP Sgt. Omar Morales of the Border Division said Thursday that the investigation began in mid-April and is being handled jointly by the agency’s Border and Inland division motor carrier safety units. Morales declined to discuss details of the ongoing investigation but said it is expected to be completed within the next couple of months.
One district employee who helped report the concerns and spoke on condition of anonymity said more than a half-dozen employees contacted the CHP and the media after they believed complaints made to a transportation manager and district administrator were ignored.
The employee said compliance with hour limits is a central safety requirement in commercial driving. The employee pointed to California Vehicle Code Section 21702 and Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations Section 1212, which govern hours of service for school bus drivers.
Together, those rules limit school bus drivers to 10 hours of driving in a day, prohibit them from being on duty more than 16 hours after reporting to work, and bar them from driving after reaching 80 on-duty hours in any consecutive eight-day period.
Hemet Unified spokesperson Brenda Aguirre-Hassan said the assertion that employees previously raised the concerns with district officials has not been substantiated. She said the district had not received formal reports or complaints directly tied to the allegations before the CHP matter.
Aguirre-Hassan said the district is reviewing personnel issues connected to the CHP investigation. She said Hemet Unified follows safety procedures that comply with laws and regulations for student transportation and provides recurring training focused on compliance and operational safety.
The district uses digital timekeeping and manual logs to track driver hours, Aguirre-Hassan said. She said those records are audited internally by the transportation department and are available to the CHP during scheduled and unscheduled terminal inspections.
Aguirre-Hassan said the district is considering improvements to its auditing software that would provide real-time warnings when drivers approach hours-of-service limits. She also said that before the current CHP investigation, Hemet Unified had consistently received “satisfactory” ratings — the highest available — during CHP inspections.
“Student safety is at the center of everything we do,” Aguirre-Hassan said, adding that the district is committed to transparency, accountability, continuous improvement and compliance with safety regulations.
Hemet Unified has long operated one of Southern California’s larger school transportation programs. Under former Transportation Manager Michael Fogerty, the district expanded its operation in 2014 into a regional hub that provided bus service to about 20 nearby districts and agencies, generating millions of dollars in outside revenue.
District officials have said those interagency transportation contracts help cover operating expenses, support fleet improvements and keep the transportation program financially self-sustaining.
The district did not provide a complete list of districts and agencies with which it has transportation agreements. The April 18 complaint, however, states that Hemet Unified serves Perris Union High School District, Perris Elementary, Nuview Union Elementary, Romoland, San Jacinto Unified and Val Verde Unified, among others.
The complaint alleges that the volume of contract work produces millions in revenue and that some employees believe safety is being compromised to maintain that workload. Aguirre-Hassan said Hemet Unified currently employs 239 professional school drivers.
The April 18 complaint also alleges that the transportation department has seen significant leadership turnover in recent years, including the resignations of two executive directors in three years, along with three transportation managers and one coordinator.
Employees cited in the complaint said some newer managers lack sufficient knowledge of pupil transportation laws and have allegedly given improper operational direction. The employee who spoke anonymously said that since Fogerty’s retirement about five years ago, the department has suffered from management problems and communication breakdowns.
The complaint specifically says the district appointed Jeff Keeney, former principal of Valle Vista Elementary School, as executive director of transportation, while employees questioned whether the department’s leadership had the operational and regulatory experience needed for the role. It also alleges that several managers remain new to their positions and appear unfamiliar with applicable transportation laws and regulations.
