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Pennsylvania districts, transit agencies and bus contractors

ELDT for Pennsylvania bus drivers. ELDT online, the 20 hours in two halves with your IU or contractor.

Pennsylvania splits its school bus training in two: 10 hours before the skills test and 10 more within 120 days after the S endorsement issues, under 67 Pa. Code Chapter 71. Federal ELDT sits underneath both halves. ELDT365 handles the federal theory for $20 per course.

The Pennsylvania picture: new drivers need federal ELDT theory and BTW for Class B, Passenger and School Bus before the skills test. Separately, 67 Pa. Code 71.5 requires a 10-hour course (7 classroom, 3 in-bus) before driving a bus with children and before the skills test, then a supplemental 10 hours (7 classroom, 3 in-bus) within 120 days of receiving the S endorsement. If PennDOT is not notified of the second half within 150 days, it suspends the endorsement. Training is delivered by districts, contractors, Intermediate Units and technical centers under PennDOT supervision. A PennDOT-mandated 15-day permit hold applies before the skills test, and the annual DL-704 school bus physical is required.

What Pennsylvania requires on top of ELDT

First 10 hours before the skills test

7 hours classroom, 3 hours in-bus, under 67 Pa. Code 71.5. Required before a driver can carry children or take the skills test.

Second 10 hours within 120 days of the S endorsement

Same split. The instructor notifies PennDOT; no notification within 150 days means suspension of the S endorsement.

Recertification every 4 years

10 hours (7 classroom, 3 in-bus), plus the 25-question school bus knowledge exam and a skills evaluation.

15-day permit hold and the DL-704 physical

Pennsylvania holds the CLP 15 days before the skills test for most upgrades. The school bus physical (DL-704) is annual.

Who delivers it

Contractors, Intermediate Units (Colonial IU 20, for example), technical career centers and districts, all under PennDOT's School Bus Driver Trainer Program.

Where ELDT365 fits

Federal theory for B, P and S, done during the 15-day permit hold so it is filed before the skills test. Contractors here have told the press certification takes about twelve weeks end to end; the theory is one week of that you can remove.

A new Pennsylvania bus driver, start to route

  1. 1
    DL-704 physical, background checks, and the CLP

    State police criminal history and child abuse history checks, then the permit with the P and S knowledge tests. Pennsylvania holds the permit 15 days before most skills tests.

  2. 2
    ELDT theory online during the 15-day hold

    Class B, Passenger and School Bus on ELDT365, filed the same day. The hold is the natural window; the record is on the registry before the driver is even eligible to test.

  3. 3
    First 10 hours: 7 classroom, 3 in-bus

    With your PennDOT-certified trainer at the contractor, IU or district. Required before the skills test and before carrying children.

  4. 4
    Skills test, S endorsement issued

    Behind-the-wheel with your trainer counts as the federal BTW record under your registry listing. PennDOT checks the registry before the test.

  5. 5
    Second 10 hours within 120 days

    Same 7 plus 3 split. Your trainer notifies PennDOT; no notification within 150 days and the S endorsement is suspended. Recert is 10 hours every four years.

Cost for a Pennsylvania cohort

Class B, Passenger and School Bus are $20 each per driver. A driver who needs all three is $60; a Class B holder adding the two endorsements is $40. Pennsylvania fleets can put a card on file and be billed as they enroll, or prepay seats on a PO with a W-9 and a quote. No minimum and no contract. The federal explainer, pricing comparison and who-this-is-for detail are on the bus driver overview.

Questions schools ask

Is ELDT still required for Pennsylvania school bus drivers if they finish Pennsylvania's 20 school bus hours under 67 Pa. Code Chapter 71?

Pennsylvania's 20 school bus hours under 67 Pa. Code Chapter 71 satisfies Pennsylvania. It does not satisfy FMCSA. A driver getting a Class B, Passenger or School Bus endorsement for the first time since February 7, 2022 also needs a federal ELDT record from a provider on the Training Provider Registry before the PA skills test. The two records live in two different systems: the state training with PennDOT, the ELDT with FMCSA.

Who teaches the Pennsylvania part?

PennDOT-certified school bus driver instructors at contractors, Intermediate Units, technical centers and districts.

How often do Pennsylvania drivers repeat it?

10 hours (7 classroom, 3 in-bus) every four years, plus the knowledge exam and a skills evaluation. ELDT has no refresher.

PennDOT's web page says 20 hours before testing. Which is right?

The regulation, 67 Pa. Code 71.5, splits it: 10 hours before the skills test, 10 within 120 days after the S endorsement. The web page is a simplification. Your IU or contractor trainer schedules both halves.

What stays with our PA program and what moves to ELDT365?

Moves to us: the federal theory for Class B, Passenger and School Bus, and the FMCSA filing. Stays with you: Pennsylvania's 20 school bus hours under 67 Pa. Code Chapter 71, behind-the-wheel, the physical, drug testing and background checks. Nothing about your Pennsylvania certificate changes.

Get your Pennsylvania drivers filed this week

Free school account, $20 per course per driver, filed to the FMCSA registry the same day. Pennsylvania's 20 school bus hours under 67 Pa. Code Chapter 71 stays exactly where it is.

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