The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has granted a 90-day extension to temporarily waive the “under the hood” skills test that is part of a new application for a commercial driver’s license (CDL).

The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) lobbied for the initial waiver that was issued Jan. 3 and was set to expire Thursday along with the extension to further support the recruitment of new school bus drivers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 19.

State agencies overseeing the CDL process now have until June to waive the engine compartment component of the pre-trip vehicle inspection skills test requirement, also known as “under the bonnet,” for Commercial Driver’s License applicants looking for the School Bus (S) and Passenger (P) Endorsements as well as the Intrastate Only (K) restriction.

All other CDL proficiency testing requirements remain in place.

“NSTA believes this waiver allows the CDL process to better reflect the responsibilities of a school bus driver, without negatively affecting the safety of our students,” NSTA Executive Director Curt Macysyn said. “We look forward to working with the agency to make permanent changes to help alleviate the shortage of bus drivers without compromising safety.”

The additional three months, according to the FMCSA, “temporarily removes a potential barrier to entry for the student transportation industry in its recruitment of candidate school bus drivers, as the waiver more closely aligns the process for obtaining “a CDL with the responsibilities of a school bus driver. This extension will bring contractors into the early summer months, which is peak recruiting season for school bus drivers,” a press release read.

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However, STN readers have shared via Facebook and with editors that the under-the-hood component of the skills test is not a major barrier to getting a CDL. As STN Editor-in-Chief Ryan Gray commented in his February Editor’s Column, some industry pros say the under-the-hood skills test isn’t the deciding factor in determining whether new applicants obtain their CDL to drive school buses.

Since February, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Wisconsin have implemented the waiver. Other states such as Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania ignored the waiver because they were unable to update their websites in time. STN contacted Macysyn to see if other states have since implemented the waiver, but he did not respond to that report.