Only if you have a passenger endorsement. In your case, it should be easy to get, if the church will let you use the bus for the road test. You simply take the passengers written test, road test in the bus, then you'll have the endorsement.
More than 15 persons (including the driver) requires a class of CDL appropriate to the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the bus (Class C CDL for 26,000 lbs. GVWR and less; Class B CDL for single vehicles with a GVWR in excess of 26,000 lbs.) and a passenger endorsement. Yes, that includes church buses.
Number of variables here. Any vehicle transporting school children as an official business matter is considered a school bus, so it could be an SUV, or it could be an actual bus.
For vehicles designed to transport 15 persons or less (including the driver), such as a 15 passenger van, laws will vary by state. Some states will only require the regular drivers license and allow a school bus endorsement to be placed on that license, while others may have a chauffeur license system in place.
A bus designed to transport more than 15 persons (including the driver) requires a CDL with passenger endorsement (the school bus endorsement specifically for school buses). If the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of such a vehicle is 26,000 lbs. or less, a Class C CDL would be required (not to be confused with a regular Class C license)... if the GVWR exceeds 26,000 lbs., a Class B CDL is required.
You can drive one with a Class C CDL with passenger and school bus endorsements, so long as the GVWR of the bus is 26,000 lbs. or less, but you cannot drive one without a CDL.
Only if you have the appropriate passenger endorsement.
Class C CDL with School Bus endorsement.
Class C CDL with School Bus endorsement.
I have my CDL, and I'm look for school that teaches bus driving.
School Bus operators or public bus companiesha hasorrygood luck
Yes they are, however, bus drivers get more specialized training beyond their class C license. They need a class B license. You first need a class C license before you can get a class B license.
There is no "school bus CDL". You either have a Class C or Class B CDL with a school bus endorsement. A Class C, you can drive any bus under 26,001 lbs. GVWR. If you get a hazmat endorsement, you can transport hazardous materials in any vehicle 26,000 lbs. GVWR or less. If you have a Class B, technically, you can drive any single vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of more than 26,000 lbs, but you're not going to get hired to drive a Class 8 with an unsynchronized manual transmission without any experience.
No. For one, if the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the bus is 26,001 lbs. or more, that right there requires at least a Class B CDL. Furthermore, any bus of any weight rating which is designed to transport more than 15 passengers (including the driver) requires a CDL of a class appropriate to the vehicle (at least Class C for a bus under 26,001 GVWR; at least Class B for a bus of 26,001 GVWR or more), and this applies whether the bus is laden or empty.
To be able to drive a school bus in USA, you are required to own a commercial driving license (CDL) along with endorsements for School Bus (S). These requirements vary across the states in USA and it is necessary that you do you research well before applying at the school district office. So, how do you go about it?
All but a school bus and motorcycle
nope