SAFETY AND ELDT Tailored Prep to Boost ELDT Compliance, Driver Safety With the Entry-Level Driver Training compliance deadline approaching, two companies are working to help pupil transporters get ready to meet the requirements in time, in addition to ensuring safety is a top priority. By Lynda Van Kuren O ne of the most important — and challenging — tasks school transportation departments face is ensuring they have enough qualified school bus drivers to safely transport students to and from school. To do so, new drivers must be found, trained, and licensed. This school year pupil transpor-tation departments must also meet a new demand: en-suring their new drivers meet the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) regulations. According to the regula-tions, new school bus drivers must complete a theory and behind-the-wheel training program, achieve at least 80% on an exam on the classroom content, and dem-onstrate proficiency on ELDT’s behind-the-wheel skills before they take the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) WWW.SCHOOLBUSFLEET.COM 34 SCHOOL BUS FLEET AUGUST 2021 Photo courtesy kali9 via iStock/Getty Images