The heart of every school bus is the certified school bus staff, which includes school bus aides. School districts and charter schools rely on school bus staff for successful pupil transportation.


Requirements

To become a Delaware school bus aide, applicants must be at least 18 years of age and satisfactorily complete the following. These requirements apply to all new applicants and for any person whose aide employment has lapsed for more than a year.

  • School bus driver classroom training or any other district-required training
  • Pre-employment drug test
  • Child protection registry check
  • Criminal background affidavit
  • State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) fingerprinting and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal background checks
  • Delaware school bus aide physical with TB screening

Complete an employment application with either a contractor or a school
district.

Have a contractor or district/school submit a Child Protective Registry
registration.

Complete a pre-employment NON-DOT drug test. If working for a contractor,
have them submit the drug test verification form to a district/school. BAT is not
required for pre-employment. The driver must go to one of the approved drug
testing locations.

Go to an approved State Bureau of Identification Site submit to a federal and state
public school employee background check. Individuals are to get a receipt and
turn the receipt into the district/school Transportation Office. The local district’s
Human Resource Office reviews the background check, completes the DE School
Bus Aide Background Clearance Verification Form, and submits it to the
Transportation Office.

Complete School Bus Driver/Aide Affidavit and provide to Transportation
Office (notary required)

Medical Requirement:

  • Have a doctor complete the DDOE School Bus Aide Physical Form
  • Have a TB Test completed and provide results or a letter from a
    physician stating you cannot take the test and are clear of TB.
  • Once the DOE School Bus Aide Physical Form and TB Test Results are
    submitted to the district, a blue physical card will be issued to you

Attend the Department of Education (DOE) 12-hour class in basic school bus driver/aide training. These class are held every month in each county. Please see the training calendar and complete online registration to attend.

Please note, these steps are for guidance only, and the Department of Education is not providing legal advice. The aide is responsible for completing all requirements of the law regardless of whether they are included in this form. If you would like to download a copy of these steps, please see the Requirements and Procedures for Becoming a Certified Aide checklist.

To search the list of applicable forms, please see Pupil Transportation Forms. For a list of Resources as well as Statutes and Regulations, please see School Pupil Transportation.


Training

Aides attend a one day, aid specific training. All training attendees must complete online registration. Training is available in each county. Please review the schedule below and/or download a copy of the training calendar.

Class times are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please do not arrive for training earlier than 8:30 a.m.

New Castle County

New Castle County Vo-Tech Marshallton Center, 1703 School Lane, Wilmington, DE 19808

Register for training in New Castle County

Year Month Available Dates
2024 July 11
2024 August 1
2024 September 9
2024 October 10
2024 November 4
2025 January 9
2025 March 6
2025 May 1

Kent County

Collette Education Resource Center
35 Commerce Way, Suite 1, Dover, DE 19904

Register for training in Kent County

Year Month Available Dates
2024 July 25
2024 August 22
2024 September 25
2024 October 24
2024 November 21
2024 December 4
2025 January 30
2025 February 27
2025 March 27
2025 April 24
2025 May 22
2025 June 18
Column 1 Value 13 Column 2 Value 13 Column 3 Value 13

Sussex County

Indian River School District – Howard T. Ennis School, 26021 Patriots Way, Georgetown, DE 19947

Register for training in Sussex County

Year Month Available Dates
2024 June 13
2024 August 15
2024 September 26
2024 October 17
2024 December 12
2025 February 20
2025 April 10
2025 June 12