DPS Corner

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    DPS

    ESC Region 11 is in close contact with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Information will be posted to the DPS page as it becomes available regarding drivers with expired cards, etc. Please check the DPS Corner often.
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  • Do I need a CDL to drive a ...........? Do I need to take the 20-hour School Bus Safety Certification course? The following questions are answered below by DPS:

    Home to School and School to Home

    The only bus to be used to transport students from home to school/school to home is the yellow school bus. The white activity bus (or any other color that is not yellow) or a Multi-Function School Activity Bus (MFSAB) is NOT allowed to be used for home to school/school to home transport, even if the bus is equipped with loading lights and a stop arm.

     

    CDL requirements for all types of buses, regardless of the color (school bus, MFSAB, school activity bus)

    Class B CDL with proper endorsements

    • 24 passengers or more, including the driver.
    • P endorsement - required for all buses.
    • S endorsement - required for operating a school bus. The driver must test in the yellow school bus to obtain the S endorsement.
    • S endorsement - NOT required for a MFSAB or activity bus.

     

    Class C CDL with proper endorsements

    • 16 – 23 passengers, including the driver 
    • P endorsement - required for all buses.
    • S endorsement - required for operating a school bus. The driver must test in the yellow school bus to obtain the S endorsement.
    • S endorsement - NOT required for a MFSAB or activity bus.

     

    No CDL or endorsements required - endorsements for CDL only

    • 15 passengers or less, including the driver

     

    20-Hour & 8-Hour Certification Courses

    Required for and applicable to ALL school bus drivers operating a school bus, a MFSAB, or a school activity bus, even if a CDL is not required.

     

    Medical Card (Annual DOT Physical)

    Required for and applicable to all school bus drivers operating a school bus, a MFSAB, or a school activity bus, even if a CDL is not required.

     

    Bus Driver Penalty Points Tables

    Applicable to all drivers transporting students regardless of the vehicle. Penalty Point Tables also apply to a coach/teacher/driver, etc. transporting students in the school district suburban or any other passenger vehicle.

     

    Christie Hebert

    Texas Department of Public Safety

    Texas Highway Patrol Division

    School Bus Transportation Program

    (512) 424-7396

  • The Texas Department of Public Safety has given their website a much needed face lift. Any pages that were previously book marked may no longer be working.

    Below are a few of the new direct links that pertain to school bus transportation.

  • January 5, 2021

    My office has received numerous calls/emails already this week regarding driver's CDLs being downgraded.

    CDL holders that are in the Non-Excepted medical certification category are required to provide DPS with a new medical card when their card on file expires.

    (CDL holders in the Excepted medical certification category are not required to submit their medical card to DPS)

    Drivers with a medical card that expired from March 1, 2020 to June  1, 2020 and did NOT submit their new medical card to DPS, were downgraded on December 30, 2020.

    If you have a driver that has been downgraded, they must visit their local Driver License office in order to have the license brought back to a CDL. If your driver did submit their medical card and they feel it’s an error, they will need to bring proof of the submission to their local driver office for assistance. Unfortunately my office cannot assist them.

    IMPORTANT: Drivers that have been downgraded CANNOT drive a school bus with a downgraded CDL.

    It is the district's responsibility to ensure that all school bus drivers have a valid CDL with both P & S endorsements. Therefore, it is recommended that you run a driving record on all drivers to make sure no one has recently been downgraded and failed to notify you.

    Thank you,

    Christie Hebert

    Texas Department of Public Safety

    CVE Training Unit

    School Bus Transportation Program

    (512) 424-7396
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