Student Transportation
School Bus Driver Certification Classes* and Transportation Forms for Schools
To drive a school bus for an accredited school in the state of Oklahoma, a school bus driver must possess a Commercial Driver License (CDL) of the appropriate class for the vehicle driven with a school bus (S) and a passenger (P) endorsement. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) administers the CDL program. Additionally, drivers must possess a School Bus Driving Certificate issued by the State Department of Education (SDE). The requirements to receive the certificate include a current CDL, drug and alcohol testing, health certification, background checks, and completion of an approved school bus driving training class.
Many of the tech centers across the state hold classes that will both prepare you for the CDL tests and satisfy the SDE school bus training requirement. Before enrolling in any course a school bus driver candidate should possess a Commercial Driver License Learner Permit with the proper endorsements. This is obtained by completing several tests at DPS Driver License Examining Stations. A list of examining stations can be found here, http://www.dps.state.ok.us/dls/pub/DLES.pdf.
A person interested in driving a school bus should visit with the employing school district about the type of buses the district uses. It is especially important to know if the school's buses use air brakes or not because air brake buses require special certifications.
Many larger school districts have trainers who will guide you through the process to obtain your CDL.
If you need additional school bus driver qualification information, or how to contact a state certified instructor for school bus driver classes, you may call the Student Transportation Section of the State Department of Education at (405) 521-3472.
- Online School Bus Driver Classes - Ongoing As Needed, Call to Schedule Online Course, 19 Hours Plus 5 Hours On-the-Road Training. When scheduling make sure the behind the wheel training is provided.
- Oklahoma Association for Pupil Transportation, Flexible - Kim Hamilton (405) 514-4606
- Wes Watkins Technology Center, Wetumka - (405) 452-5500 Instructor: Kevin Winn
- Professional Development Inservice Four (4) Hour Classes for School Bus Drivers
As of July 1, 2007, the State Department of Education regulations require Oklahoma certified school bus drivers to attend a minimum of four (4) hours of professional development in-service each year. Local districts, Career Techs, state agencies and professional associations may present classes from the SDE approved list of topics. A class may be presented for 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, as desired. Attendance records must be kept by the employing school district.
Forms & Documents
Oklahoma School Bus Drivers
Forms and Documents
- 49 CFR Part 40.25: Request for Information from Former Employer (pdf)
- Annual Health Certificate/Physical Form (pdf)
- Annual Inservice Verification Form and SDE Approved Subjects 2013 (pdf)
- Application for School Bus Driver Certificate (pdf)
- Driving Record Requests (pdf) - From the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- How to Become a School Bus Driver Brochure page 1 and page 2 (pdf)
- Request for In-Service Documentation (pdf)
Training Manuals
- Commercial Driver License Manual - From the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Training Manual for Oklahoma School Bus Driver Certification (pdf)
- National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures (pdf)
- 2014 Updated Railroad Crossing
- DPS School Bus Section
Oklahoma School Bus Drivers Training Videos
School Bus Drivers Tracking System-20170306 1601-1 from OSDE Instruction Group on Vimeo.
- Bus Driver Flood Safety | mov | mp4 | wmv |
- West Virginia Near Hit Video
Oklahoma School Districts and Transportation Areas
Some of Oklahoma's school districts only provide education for students through the 6th or the 8th grade. When students are ready to pursue higher grades they may attend the school of their choice, but they can only expect transportation service from the independent district responsible for that "Transportation Area." A Transportation Area is the area of an elementary district that has been assigned to a nearby independent district for the purpose of providing transportation to the high school age students who live in the elementary district.
The independent district providing transportation in the Transportation Area is only authorized to transport students who have graduated from the elementary districts highest grade. Elementary age siblings of the high school student are not eligible for school transportation services to the independent district unless there is an agreement between both schools' boards of education.
The following link is to a site maintained by the Oklahoma University Center for Spatial Analysis. It provides accurate maps of the school districts in Oklahoma. Transportation areas can also be found on the map.
http://sites.csa.ou.edu/transportation/
Oklahoma School Buses
- Emergency Evacuation of Bus Passengers (pdf)
- Oklahoma School Bus Inspection Guide (pdf)
- Evaluations of Bus Routes (pdf)
- Minimum School Bus Specifications (pdf)
- Pre-Trip/Post-Trip Bus Inspection (pdf)
- Qstraint maintenance and inspection information
- The Maryland State Department of Education has prepared a document that will be helpful to districts needing to provide transportation to an oxygen dependent student. Management of the Needs of the Oxygen-Dependent Student
Recalls
- Bus Recalls November 11 through October 12 (pdf)
- Bus Recalls November 10 through October 11 (pdf)
- Bus Recalls July 2013
- Bus Recalls August 2013
- Bus Recalls September 2013
- Bus Recalls December 2013
- Bus Recalls February 2014
School Transportation Documents and Information
- Transporting Students with Disabilities page
- School Bus Idling Reduction: Project Report & Implementation Guide for Oklahoma School Districts (pdf)
- Severe Weather Procedures
Links Outside the SDE
