The Online School Bus Certificate That Does Not Count
At a Louisiana district, a new hire named Cody is 23 and has a Class B CDL with no passenger or school bus endorsements. He has a current DOT medical card, a clean MVR, and a fingerprint-based background clearance. He completed a 40-hour online ‘School Bus Operator Certificate’ from an online company and printed a certificate. The company is not listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. Cody has not taken the P or S knowledge tests. The transportation director wants him to take a skills test next Monday in a 72-passenger school bus with air brakes and then start driving a route Wednesday. Cody says his Class B CDL and the online course should be enough because he already passed a CDL skills test. The district has a driver shortage and has offered to pay for the skills test.
1. Does Cody’s online certificate satisfy entry-level driver training? What must the district verify before Cody may take the S skills test?
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No. Entry-level driver training for the P and S endorsements must be provided by a training provider listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. A certificate from a company that is not listed does not satisfy the requirement, even if the course is long and covers similar topics. The provider must be registered and must upload Cody’s training certification so the state can verify it before the skills test.
The district should verify the provider on the TPR and confirm that the theory and behind-the-wheel training are complete for the endorsements Cody needs. Cody already has a Class B CDL, so he does not need initial Class B ELDT, but he does need ELDT for the P and S endorsements because he does not hold them. The district should not schedule the S skills test based on the printed certificate alone. It also should not let him drive the route Wednesday before the endorsement is issued.
2. What testing and training steps remain before Cody can legally drive the school bus, and in what order?
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Cody needs the P and S knowledge tests, ELDT theory and behind-the-wheel training from a TPR-listed provider, and a skills test in a representative school bus. Because the bus has air brakes, he also needs to ensure he does not have an air-brake restriction or that he completes the air-brake knowledge and skills requirements. He should complete the knowledge tests and ELDT before the skills test; the state will verify the ELDT certification before allowing the skills test.
After he passes the skills test, the state must issue the P and S endorsements on his CDL. He also must complete Louisiana’s separate school bus driver training and background requirements, which are not replaced by ELDT. Only after the endorsements are on his license and the state and district requirements are satisfied should he drive a route with students. His Class B CDL and prior skills test do not shorten the endorsement process.
3. Cody says he already passed a Class B skills test, so he should only need a written test. Is he correct? Explain the relationship between license class and endorsements.
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He is not correct. License class and endorsements are separate requirements. The Class B skills test shows that he can operate a Class B vehicle, but it does not test passenger carrying or school bus-specific operation. The P endorsement authorizes driving a vehicle designed to carry 16 or more passengers, and the S endorsement authorizes driving a school bus. A school bus driver needs both the proper license class and the P and S endorsements.
The S endorsement also requires passenger-endorsement knowledge and skills, and the skills test must be performed in a representative school bus. Cody’s Class B test may have been in a straight truck or another Class B vehicle, which is not a school bus. He must pass the P and S knowledge tests and the school bus skills test. The online certificate and the prior skills test do not substitute for those endorsement requirements.