pero tu no tienes que conducir 40 minutos hacia la escuela
translation is :
but you don't have to drive 40 minutes to school


why is que used here?? i've noticed many sentences use the word que and im not sure what rule calls this in spanish and why it's so??

nvm found my answer. use que to express obligation or necessity!

Right!
tener que = to have to (do something)

I can understand the frustration that comes from not knowing how to use the appropriate spanish preposition or conjunctive words in compound spanish sentences.

For example: que vs como, it is translated interchangeably as "that" in english in lots of spanish phrases. Como also translated as "what" in english.