Hazleton Area School District School Bus Driver Guide
No CDL needed. A private contractor pays you to train for your CDL, starting around $21/hr. Must be 21+.
🎁 Limited-time: + free Pennsylvania CDL Passenger & School Bus study guide
Hazleton Area School District is the sixth-largest district in Pennsylvania, with about 13,100 students in 16 school buildings across a 256-square-mile footprint in Luzerne, Carbon, and Schuylkill Counties. The district owns no buses and employs no drivers. Its transportation is fully contracted, and the district's 2026-2031 transportation request covers 63 School Buses and 18 vans. Rohrer Bus Service ran the 2025-26 contract and is actively hiring in Hazleton.
That sets the path: you apply to the contractor, not the district. Rohrer hires with no CDL at entry (21 or older with a valid license), provides all required CDL training, and pays you to train. The 2026-2031 contract winner was not publicly named at research time, so confirm the current contractor before you apply. This page covers the application path, the pay and schedule, and what to verify first.
Hazleton Area School District at a glance
The essentials, pulled from official sources. The full pay tables, the exact application walkthrough, and the school calendar are in the guide.
How to become a School Bus Driver in the Hazleton Area
The path in order. The guide expands every step with the exact forms, links, and figures for Hazleton Area School District.
Confirm you qualify before you apply
Rohrer requires you to be 21 or older with a valid driver's license, and you must earn a Pennsylvania Class B CDL with Passenger (P) and School Bus (S) endorsements. Your driving record must meet the contractor's standards. The district's contract requirements bar any driver ever convicted of a DUI, alcohol or illegal substance, and apply zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol. A high school diploma or GED is preferred, not required.
Confirm the contractor, then apply
Rohrer Bus Service was the 2025-26 contractor and remains actively hiring in Hazleton, but the district's 2026-2031 contract winner was not publicly named at research time. Call the Rohrer Hazleton office at 570-788-7123 to confirm who holds the contract. Then apply online at rohrerbus.com/drive, searching School Bus Driver, with accurate driving and employment history.
Interview with the contractor
Rohrer hires continuously, and no job fairs were found for 2026-27. A company representative handles the interview. Expect questions on reliability, safe driving, and working with students, and confirm the exact weekly hours, since drivers are part-time.
Clear the post-offer screenings
After a conditional offer you complete three Pennsylvania clearances (Act 34 State Police, Act 151 child abuse history, Act 114 FBI fingerprints), a DOT 5-panel drug screen, a DOT physical with a Medical Examiner's Certificate, and the annual Pennsylvania DL-704 school bus physical. The district's contract requires physicals at a district-approved medical facility, not a personal physician, at the expense of the driver or contractor. Ask Rohrer who pays the clearances and the physical.
Earn your CDL as a paid trainee
Rohrer states that it provides all CDL training and pays you to train. You complete classroom work, pass the CDL knowledge exams, train behind the wheel to satisfy the federal Entry-Level Driver Training rule, and pass the three-part skills test in a School Bus. Rohrer has not published the program length or the trainee hourly rate, so confirm both when you call.
Ride with a trainer, then drive solo
After you are licensed, you ride your route with an experienced trainer until you know it, then drive solo. The work is Monday through Friday on the school calendar, with weekends, holidays, and summers off. Drivers are contractor employees, so there is no district salary schedule and no PSERS pension.
What's in the full Hazleton Area School District guide
35+ pages, twelve chapters, written in plain English — everything above in full detail, plus the parts that change year to year.
Right now, includes a free Pennsylvania CDL Passenger & School Bus endorsement study guide — the exact material on the two written tests, so you pass the first time. Bundled with your Hazleton Area School District guide at no extra cost, for a limited time.
The real pay tables
Every step of the Hazleton Area School District pay scale, benefits, and the split-shift schedule — the numbers that decide if this fits your life.
The application, walked through
Exactly what to submit and which documents to attach, so you are not knocked out on a technicality.
The interview
The three things every interviewer is really asking, and what to highlight. (Free in the sample.)
Screenings & paid CDL training
Every screening after your offer, who pays for what, and how you are trained toward your CDL.
The school calendar
This year's Hazleton Area School District calendar — work days, holidays, and breaks — so you know your real schedule.
Managing a bus full of kids
The passenger-management techniques veteran drivers swear by. (Also free in the sample.)
See inside before you buy
A few real pages from the manual — the interview and passenger-management chapters — so you can judge the quality yourself.
Hazleton Area School District bus driver questions
Does Hazleton Area School District hire its own School Bus Drivers?
No. The district owns zero buses and employs no drivers; it keeps only a transportation director as contract liaison. Route drivers are contractor employees. Rohrer Bus Service held the 2025-26 contract, and the 2026-2031 winner was not publicly named at research time, so confirm the current contractor before you apply.
How much do Hazleton Area School Bus Drivers make?
Rohrer's Hazleton posting lists $21.00 an hour, with safety and attendance bonuses. Rohrer has also advertised a company-wide hiring incentive of up to $1,500 earned on milestones and a $1,000 referral bonus for School Bus Drivers, but no Hazleton-specific sign-on bonus was confirmed for 2026-27. Ask the contractor what is in effect.
What benefits does Rohrer offer Hazleton drivers?
Rohrer lists a 401(k) with a company match, optional vision insurance, paid holidays, and safety and attendance bonuses. Drivers are contractor employees with no PSERS pension and no district health plan, and no union was documented. Health insurance for part-time drivers was not listed, so ask before you apply.
What's the free CDL study guide?
For a limited time, every district guide comes bundled with a free study guide for your state's CDL Passenger and School Bus endorsements — the two written tests you'll take. It covers exactly what's on those tests so you can pass the first time, at no extra cost.
Is this an official guide from the School District?
No. It is an independent preparation guide, not affiliated with or endorsed by any School District. It organizes the public information into one clear manual so you do not have to dig for it.
How do I get the guide after I pay?
Instantly. Checkout takes about a minute, then you get a download link on the screen and by email. It is a PDF you can open on any phone, tablet, or computer and keep.
Get hired in Hazleton Area School District.
The whole hiring process in one guide — pay, forms, contacts, and the calendar, all in order.