HF 395 ELDT-S Task Force

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a branch of the United States Department of Transportation, is responsible for regulating and providing safety oversight of commercial motor vehicles. FMCSA's mission is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. 

Effective Feb. 7, 2022, FMCSA set minimum requirements for new commercial drivers with its Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT). ELDT is required for drivers who receive an initial Class A or Class B commercial driver’s license (CDL), upgrade an existing Class B CDL to a Class A CDL, or receive a school bus (S), passenger (P), or hazardous materials (H) endorsement. Proper licensure for Iowa’s school bus drivers (i.e., those who operate a yellow school bus) includes a Class A, B, or C CDL as well as both the S and P endorsements. House File 395 (HF 395) (Iowa Acts 2025), signed into law on June 6, 2025, modified statutory requirements of training of Iowa’s new school bus drivers (Iowa Code § 321.376) to incorporate ELDT requirements.

HF395 directs the Iowa Department of Education, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Transportation, to adopt administrative rules establishing requirements for providers of ELDT-S and ELDT-P endorsements. The Departments of Education and Transportation established the ELDT-S Task Force as an initial effort to discuss and draft the rules required to be effective July 1, 2026. Efforts of the Task Force will commence with a focus on rules requirements for ELDT-S endorsement and will subsequently review ELDT-P endorsement standards specific to school bus drivers to determine if any changes are needed to ELDT-P endorsement.

The rules will:

  1. Establish minimum ELDT-S endorsement training content.
  2. Set minimum ELDT-S endorsement contact hours.
  3. Establish ELDT-S endorsement proficiency standards.
  4. Establish a standard ELDT-S endorsement training course duration.
  5. Create rules that ensure each ELDT-S endorsement course includes all training requirements.
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Meeting Dates

  • Thursday, Oct. 2, In-person, Des Moines
  • Wednesday, Oct. 15, Zoom
  • Wednesday, Oct. 29, In-person, Des Moines
  • Wednesday, Nov. 5, Zoom
  • Wednesday, Nov. 19, In-person, Des Moines
  • Tuesday, Dec. 2, Zoom (if needed)
  • Tuesday, Dec. 9, Zoom (if needed)

Members of the public may submit public comment through the completion of the ELDT-S Task Force Public Comment Form.

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Membership

Task force membership includes representation from the groups below.

  • Department of Education
  • Department of Transportation
  • Entry-Level Driver Training content providers
  • Entry-Level Driver Training content creators
  • Public school district transportation directors
  • School bus drivers
  • School bus mechanics
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