ESC Region 11 Transportation News
What's happening around the region and around Texas?
** March 30, 2020 **
ESC Region 11 - Closed / Enrollment Cards Still Processed
ESC Region 11 will be closed and all trainings, meetings, and events are cancelled through April 13, 2020. However, ESC Region 11 employees are telecommuting and are working hard to meet your needs. Information will be posted as it becomes available. Please check the transportation webpages often for updates.
School bus Enrollment Card requests received during this time will be processed. For your convenience, Schoolbus@esc11.net is being checked on a daily basis.
DPS Corner
ESC Region 11 has recently added a new webpage, DPS Corner. Important updates and information for transportation personnel will be provided. Here are some important topics:
- Please visit the link COVID - 19 Response for frequently updated information regarding driver license office services, restrictions, and closures, including temporary closure of driver license offices (open, by appointment for first-time CDL testers) and extended expiration dates of drivers licenses during a disaster declaration.
Online 8-Hour Recertification: DPS is encouraging drivers to take online classes. For those who are taking the online course, the course must be completed within the 14 days, but only the proctored test is temporarily being waived to be administered outside of the 14 days. Therefore, the proctored test must be administered within 60 days of the end of the State of Disaster period.
If a driver starts the online course, he or she must complete it online or restart the whole thing over in a classroom course. No online course will be transferred to a classroom course.
All questions about online recertification should be directed to the regional service
center chosen to provide the online class.
For those districts that are using school buses to deliver lunches/meals, DPS wants to remind you to please make sure drivers are not using the loading lights when they are stopping the bus. DPS officials do not want to discourage delivering food via your school buses, but to simply inform you that it is a violation of Texas Transportation Code 547.701(c) (see below) to operate the loading lights if the bus is NOT loading or unloading students.
547.701(c) When a school bus is being stopped or is stopped on a
highway to permit students to board or exit the bus, the operator of
the bus shall activate all flashing warning signal lights and other
equipment on the bus designed to warn other drivers that the bus is
stopping to load or unload children. A person may not operate such a
light or other equipment except when the bus is being stopped or is
stopped on a highway to permit students to board or exit the bus.
Enrollment Cards, Certification and Recertification Card, Medical Card - Extensions
An Enrollment Card displaying an expired date will be considered valid if both of these conditions are met:
1. The expiration date on the enrollment card is on or after March 13, 2020; AND
2. The expired date is within 60 days of the end of the State of Disaster period, which will be the date the department provides public notice that normal issuance procedures have resumed.
Any driver with an enrollment card that does not fall within these conditions can be issued a second enrollment card, but only if approved by the ESC.
Please remember that enrollment cards are to only be issued to drivers enrolled in the next available certification course, not the recertification course.
A Certification and/or Recertification Card displaying an expired date will be considered valid if both of these conditions are met:
1. The expiration date on the cert/recert card is on or after March 13, 2020; AND
2. The expired date is within 60 days of the end of the State of Disaster period, which will be the date the department provides public notice that normal issuance procedures have resumed.
Medical cards:
For drivers who are certified to the Non-Excepted category (which requires them to submit their medical card to DPS), the department has suspended the automatic downgrade of a CDL if the driver has not provided a current medical certificate. If drivers choose to proceed with their physical and obtain a current medical certificate, they can still submit the certificate to the department by email CDLMedCert@dps.texas.gov or by fax 512-424-2002.
For drivers certified to both the Excepted and Non-excepted categories, a medical card displaying an expired date will be considered valid if both of these conditions are met:
1. The expiration date on the medical card is on or after March 13, 2020; AND
2. The expired date is within 60 days of the end of the State of Disaster, which will be the date the department provides public notice that normal issuance procedures have resumed.
CDL Testing
For information regarding CDL testing, please visit the DPS website at the following link: https://www.dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/covid-19.htm
New information will be posted as it becomes available from DPS. Please check the web page often.
8-Hour and 20-Hour School Bus Safety Certification Classes
All 8-Hour Recertification and 20-Hour Certification Classes are cancelled through April 12. For a complete list, see the Cancellations page.
It is the intent of ESC Region 11 to resume 8-Hour and 20-Hour classes as soon as it is safe to do so.
ESC Region 11 is in close contact with DPS and guidance will be provided as it becomes available.
More information will be forthcoming and will be posted to the wepage as it becomes available.
Regional TAPT School Bus Safety Speech Contest
Winner, winner chicken dinner! Congratulations go out to Granbury ISD students Peter Schwarck (senior), Mary Withey (junior), and Sierra Frank (sophomore) for representing ESC Region 11 and advancing to the TAPT State Speech Contest! The topic this year is Can’t Touch This – The Danger Zone! Good luck at state!
For specific questions, contact Pat Garcia at pat.garcia@region10.org or (972) 348-1326.
Part-Time Trainer
Request to Host 8-hour School Bus Safety Recertification or 20-Hour School Bus Safety Certification
at (817) 740-3659 or by email at centralregistration@esc11.net.
About Us
Transportation Specialist - Peggy DeMoss
Transportation Program Assistant - Andrea Walker
817-740-3631 awalker@esc11.net
Email: pdemoss@esc11.net
Website: https://www.esc11.net/Domain/497
Location: 1451 South Cherry Lane, White Settlement, TX, USA
Phone: 817-740-7529
LB 03.30.20