Fla. counties to use online training for school bus drivers

PENSACOLA, Fla. — School Training Solutions (STS) is partnering with several counties across the state to provide in-service training for bus drivers and other school support personnel.

A division of Smart Horizons, STS is a comprehensive offering of online training organized to meet state-mandated in-service training requirements and the professional development training needs of all school district employees. The STS course catalog contains approximately 146 hours of training and is organized into driver training for bus drivers and others operating school district vehicles, OSHA training, campus security, food services and other topics.

In Florida, statewide budget cuts are causing many counties to re-evaluate programs and look for more economical solutions for training requirements. Wakulla, Hendry, Manatee and DeSoto counties are the most recent members of the STS online training community. These counties join others in Oklahoma, Iowa, West Virginia and Wyoming that have utilized STS’ online resources.

Ben Shew, state pupil transportation director for West Virginia, calculates that Smart Horizons online training saves the state nearly $1,000 per driver, according to the company.

“These results are pretty common,” said Mike Kelley, director of STS. “With our approach to online training, a state, county or district can get a tailored solution that addresses their specific training needs.”

STS also partners with the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) to provide an online option for NAPT Professional Development Series certifications.

For more information, visit www.schooltrainingsolutions.com.