News and Events

  • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

    FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse 

    Beginning January 6, 2020, all school districts and all CDL holders (included school bus drivers and white fleet drivers that hold a CDL) are required to register in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.

     

    MAP – 21

    MAP-21, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (P.L. 112-141), was signed into law by President Obama on July 6, 2012. This legislation went into full effect on September 20, 2014, and brought waves of changes to the transportation industry.

    Entry-level driver training has a compliance date of February 7, 2022.

Zoom

  • ***Read the Zoom Requirements, Monitor Agreement, and receive permission from your transportation director before registering for 20-hour Zoom (virtual) classes. 

News and Events

  • Policies Effective January 1, 2018:

    Attention districts/contractors scheduling a 20-hour Texas School Bus Driver Certification or an 8-hour Texas School Bus Driver Recertification Course: To help drivers and transportation directors register participants more easily and efficiently, ESC Region 11 issued a new policy regarding the use of passwords assigned to bus driver training sessions. 

    Beginning January 1, 2018, districts or contractors that schedule a training session and request that ESC Region 11 add a password to the class will have ten (10) business days from the time the class is posted on the ESC Region 11 website (www.esc11.net) to enroll drivers. After 10 working days, the transportation director will be notified and the password will be removed, allowing drivers from other districts to register. Note: This policy does not apply to a district/contractor that requests a closed, password-protected class, where the district guarantees that all 30 seats will be filled by the host district.

     

    Policy and Fee Changes Effective September 1, 2018:

    Please review the information below and make a note of the following changes to policy and fees regarding transportation certification classes. District “Holds” on Training Classes – One of the perks that we offer school districts that host a bus driver training class is the option to “hold” (or restrict) registrations to participants from the hosting district unless the district notifies us to open up any unused seats for other outside participants. Many school districts contact ESC Region 11 on a daily basis asking to enroll a driver in one of the restricted eight-hour or 20-hour bus safety classes. We politely inform them that seats in those classes are being held by the hosting district and that we will let them know if any of those seats are released. Unfortunately, we are experiencing situations where a hosting district does not release the unfilled seats (or releases them too late), and we do not have a full roster of registered drivers for the session. If seats go unfilled, drivers across the region lose an opportunity to be certified/recertified. ESC Region 11 trains hundreds of drivers throughout the summer months, and we believe that every driver is valuable and should have an opportunity to attend and occupy a vacant seat. 

     
    In order to address this concern while still honoring the priority status of our hosting districts, we are implementing a new “hold” policy. Beginning August 1, 2017, districts requesting a bus driving class (eight-hour recertification or twenty-hour certification) must release all unfilled seats at least ten (10) working days prior to the start date of the class or agree to pay the registration fees for all class seats (35). Districts requesting to host a class (password protect) that will not be filled by hosting district drivers have ten (10) working days to register drivers. At the end of the ten-day period, the password will be removed and outside districts and charters will be able to register drivers. It is the hosting district's responsibility to check the ESC Region 11 website www.esc11.net to see when classes are posted. 
     

    Registration Fees as of September 1, 2021

    8-hour Texas School Bus Driver Recertification - $70 per person
    20-hour Texas School Bus Driver Certification - $140 per person
    8-hour Texas School Bus Driver Online Recertification - $60 per person (paid to ESC Region 4)
    The $5 certification increase will allow us to cover our expenses and continue to provide you with quality trainers who will help prepare your drivers to operate your fleet.

    Other potential fees

    Make-up fee - $30 

    Walk-in - $25 (driver not preregistered).

    As always, districts requesting to host a class guarantee a minimum of twenty (20) participants. If that minimum is not reached, the requesting district is responsible to pay for the remaining seats.  

     

     

    All commercial drivers whose current medical certificate expires on or after May 21, 2014, at the expiration of that certificate must be examined by a medical professional listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners

    Medical Examination Report for Commercial Driver Fitness Determination (Form)

    CDL Medical Certification Requirements

    Medical Certification Requirements: