Michigan school bus drivers must be enrolled in the state Beginning School Bus Driver safety education course under MCL 257.1851, delivered by ISDs and RESAs, and complete continuing education every two years, on top of federal ELDT. ELDT365 handles the federal theory for $20 per course.
MDE-approved curriculum through your ISD or RESA. A white Course Enrollment Card lets a driver work while enrolled and for 10 days after completion.
Kalamazoo RESA, for example, requires 10 BTW hours with a certified trainer before a supervisor can enroll a driver in the class. Check your own agency.
Per MCL 257.1851. The enrollment certificate is what the driver carries in the meantime.
Green or yellow card cycle; current cards expire September 30, 2027. Supervisors also have a 6-hour requirement.
ISDs and RESAs (Kent, Kalamazoo, Oakland, Wayne, Genesee) and Northern Michigan University for the Upper Peninsula.
Federal theory for B, P and S, done before the beginning class, filed the same day. Your certified trainer's 10 BTW hours usually double as the federal BTW record if your agency or district is on the registry.
Your transportation supervisor also lines up the ISD or RESA class date, since the driver must enroll before driving.
Class B, Passenger and School Bus on ELDT365, filed the same day, before the beginning class.
Kalamazoo RESA requires this before enrollment; check your agency. These hours are the federal BTW record if your district is on the registry.
At your ISD, RESA or NMU. The white Course Enrollment Card lets the driver work while enrolled and for 10 days after.
The current green and yellow card cycle ends September 30, 2027.
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. Michigan 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.
Michigan's Beginning School Bus Driver course under MCL 257.1851 satisfies Michigan. 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 MI skills test. The two records live in two different systems: the state training with the Michigan Department of Education, the ELDT with FMCSA.
MDE-approved training agencies: Intermediate School Districts, Regional Educational Service Agencies, and Northern Michigan University for the central and western U.P.
6 hours of continuing education every two years under MCL 257.1851. ELDT has no refresher.
The white card is Michigan's permission to drive a school bus while enrolled in the beginning class, valid up to 10 days after completion. It says nothing about the CDL. A driver still needs the CDL with P and S, which means the ELDT record has to be on the registry before the skills test that earns those endorsements.
Whichever MDE-approved training agency covers your ISD: Kent ISD for Kent, Ionia and Montcalm; Kalamazoo RESA; Oakland Schools; Wayne RESA; Genesee ISD; and Northern Michigan University for the central and western Upper Peninsula. Ask your ISD if you are not sure which one you fall under.
Moves to us: the federal theory for Class B, Passenger and School Bus, and the FMCSA filing. Stays with you: Michigan's Beginning School Bus Driver course under MCL 257.1851, behind-the-wheel, the physical, drug testing and background checks. Nothing about your Michigan certificate changes.
Free school account, $20 per course per driver, filed to the FMCSA registry the same day. Michigan's Beginning School Bus Driver course under MCL 257.1851 stays exactly where it is.
Create a free school account See the full partner pageRelated: Partner program · Integrations · Seats · Cities and counties · Bus driver ELDT overview · School Bus course · Passenger course · Class B course