'S' Endorsement Extension Passed, FMCSA Clears Mechanics

By Ryan Gray | Senior Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Prior to Congress passing the federal highway bill that extends "S" Endorsement compliance for an additional year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ruled that school bus mechanics do not need an "S" endorsement on their commercial driver's license when operating the yellow vehicles without students onboard.

Meanwhile, a provision of the bill extends the deadline to Sept. 30, 2006 for all states to pass the CDL law. Another provision grandfathers in 11 states that have had FMCSA-approved written tests for their school bus drivers before September 2002. Current drivers in those states will have their requirement waived.

"Some states have already passed legislation using the 2005 deadline, so in those states the congressional action would be moot," said Robin Leeds, an industry specialist with NSTA.

New York and Pennsylvania officials along with the NSTA petitioned FMCSA for clarification earlier this summer regarding whether school bus drivers needed both the "P" passenger and "S" school bus endorsements, per 49 CFR 383.5.

FMCSA Chief Counsel Suzanne M. TeBeau ruled on July 21 that only drivers engaged in the regular education transportation of students or in special activity trips must have both endorsements on their CDL.

"Only drivers actually transporting pre-primary, primary, or secondary school students fro home to school, from school to home or to and from school sponsored events in a school bus are required to have both the P and S endorsements," wrote TeBeau in the ruling.

The P endorsement is only required for drivers delivering school buses from the manufacturer, mechanics performing test drives during and after maintenance, drivers transporting students and/or adults to and from non-school sponsored events, and any other driver operating an empty school bus. Drivers on school charter trips, those where the word "School Bus" is hidden from view, are also exempt.

The ruling only affects the federal regulations, as individual states may have further restrictions.

"They may say, 'No, you need an S endorsement for driving students to and from day care,' for example," Leeds said.