What’s New on Bus Waivers ?

By Rosalyn Vann-Jackson, Broken Arrow Public Schools

CDL Inspection Waiver

It is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain school bus drivers. A nationwide survey conducted in August 2021, produced by the National Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT), National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, and National School Transportation Association (NTA), concluded that the shortage of school bus drivers has become conspicuous. To ease the bus driver shortage the portion of the commercial driver license (CDL) test that requires applicants to identify “under the hood” engine components is now optionally waived.

The waiver is good through March 31. The applicant will be given the option to waive the under the hood inspection when they take the CDL test. Drivers receiving a CDL under this temporary waiver will have a restriction on their license disallowing them to transport outside the State of Oklahoma. During the inspection portion of the test, the driver will still be responsible for demonstrating that the vehicle is safe to operate by walking around the vehicle and pointing out each item on the bus, and explaining what they are checking and why. In addition, the internal inspection and basic skills portions of the test are still required.

The school bus industry is excited for this waiver and the forethought that went into making this decision, however; there has been little impact on recruiting drivers. What would be additionally helpful would be a school bus-only CDL that speaks to what is needed for a school bus driver to operate a vehicle safely differentiated from what an over-the-road truck driver is expected to do. As a school bus driver, a lot of districts have a mechanic available to review issues with buses from a fleet maintenance standpoint. An overthe-road driver may not have the same resources out on the road alone.

ELDT FMCSA Requirement

The Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) regulation is a new set of minimum requirements for entry-level driver training set by the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). The ELDT is part of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act signed in 2012. The regulation took effect on February 7, 2022.

With these higher standards, all entry-level drivers will be fully trained to federal standards before taking the roads. The new training standards are broken into two areas: Theory Instruction and Behind-the-Wheel (Range and Public Road). The Theory Instruction training can be supplemented through an online training curriculum. The Behind-the-Wheel training must be provided by one training provider and cannot be provided online.

There are no minimum hours required for the training, only specific topics. In addition to the training requirements, training providers are required to register themselves and training location. Our state-required School Bus (S) endorsement covers the majority of the topics so there will not be a huge issue in the implementation of the new training requirements. However; the regulatory and compliance components of registering each driver, trainer, and training will be cumbersome and time-sensitive. The overall impact is that the time to train and test drivers will increase. ■

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