Texas school bus drivers need the federal ELDT record and the Texas 20-hour School Bus Driver Safety Certification through their regional Education Service Center. ELDT365 handles the theory half of ELDT for $20 per course. Your ESC runs the 20 hours.
Classroom plus hands-on activities, delivered by your regional ESC (Region 4 in Houston lists the 20-hour course at $130, for example). Certificate issued through the ESC under DPS.
Also through the ESC. Track expiration dates on your side; DPS and the ESC do not chase your drivers.
A driver registered for the next available course can drive on an enrollment certificate in the meantime. It does not waive ELDT.
Texas requires the CDL knowledge tests in English as of June 1, 2026. Plan interpreter-free test prep accordingly.
Your regional ESC. Twenty of them cover the state; most run the course monthly and more often in summer.
Federal theory for B, P and S, done before the ESC course or alongside it, filed the same day so DPS sees it before the skills test.
Texas knowledge tests are English-only as of June 2026. Register the driver for the next ESC course at the same time; the enrollment certificate lets them work in the meantime.
Class B, Passenger and School Bus on ELDT365 the same week. The ESC treats ELDT as a separate prerequisite, so get it filed before the course date.
Classroom plus hands-on at your regional Education Service Center. Region 4 lists it at $130; other regions vary.
Your district or contractor trainer, filed as the federal BTW record under your registry listing.
DPS verifies the ELDT record in the registry before the test. Set a reminder for the 8-hour ESC recert in three years.
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. Texas 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.
The 20-hour Texas school bus certification course satisfies Texas. 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 TX skills test. The two records live in two different systems: the state training with the Texas DPS School Bus Transportation program, the ELDT with FMCSA.
Your regional Education Service Center, under the DPS School Bus Transportation program. Districts do not certify their own drivers in Texas.
An 8-hour recertification course through the ESC every three years. ELDT itself has no refresher.
No. ESC materials list federal ELDT as a separate prerequisite. The 20-hour course is the state certification; ELDT is the federal training record. Drivers need both.
No. Whoever administers the skills test, the state verifies the ELDT record in the registry first. File early.
Moves to us: the federal theory for Class B, Passenger and School Bus, and the FMCSA filing. Stays with you: the 20-hour Texas school bus certification course, behind-the-wheel, the physical, drug testing and background checks. Nothing about your Texas certificate changes.
Free school account, $20 per course per driver, filed to the FMCSA registry the same day. The 20-hour Texas school bus certification course stays exactly where it is.
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