Salt Lake City School District School Bus Driver Guide
Contract and hourly Bus Driver tracks, from $17.50/hr. Confirm CDL training before you apply.
🎁 Limited-time: + free Utah CDL Passenger & School Bus study guide
Salt Lake City School District covers the urban core of the Salt Lake Valley, with district boundaries that match the city limits. It enrolls roughly 19,000 students in 35 schools and is the tenth-largest district in Utah. The district runs a fleet of about 100 vehicles, including special education routes that carry roughly 415 riders, and it acknowledged a School Bus Driver shortage at a fall 2025 board meeting without publishing a number.
The district states that applicants without a CDL can be trained to get one, but that train-from-zero path is not confirmed on an official district source, and the training length and trainee pay are not published. You confirm all three with Transportation before you plan around them. Salt Lake City also splits its drivers into contract positions with benefits and hourly positions without them. This page covers both tracks, the pay, and the questions to ask.
Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City School District
The path in order. The guide expands every step with the exact forms, links, and figures for Salt Lake City School District.
Confirm you qualify before you apply
Utah law sets 21 as the minimum age to drive any School Bus. Your driving record must meet the district's safe-driver standard: no more than two moving violations or two accidents, or a combination, in the past 24 months. DUIs and license suspensions are disqualifying. A high school diploma or GED is preferred, not required.
Apply on SchoolSpring
All Salt Lake City postings go through slcschools.schoolspring.com, with site-based hiring. Search "Bus Driver" or "Bus Driver - Field Trip." Positions stay open until filled. Complete the full application and certify your driving and work history accurately. For application help, call the support desk at 1-877-974-7437.
Pick contract or hourly, and ask the questions that matter
Contract positions at 20 or more hours a week carry paid leave, FMLA eligibility, purchasable group insurance and retirement contributions. Hourly positions carry none of those. Call Transportation at 801-974-8345 and ask whether the district trains drivers from zero for the CDL, who pays for the training, whether trainee time is paid, and the next class date.
Clear the screenings after your offer
Pre-employment includes background and education verification and a criminal history check. That means a nationwide fingerprint check (FBI and the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification) with ongoing RAP-back monitoring, a DOT 5-panel drug screen, and a DOT physical that produces your Medical Examiner's Certificate. Who pays the screening costs is not published.
Earn your Class B CDL with P and S endorsements
School Bus Drivers need a Class B CDL with Passenger (P) and School Bus (S) endorsements, plus the Utah School Bus Driver Certification on top. The district says applicants without a CDL can be trained to get one, but the train-from-zero path is not confirmed on an official source, and the program length and trainee pay are not published. Get the answer in writing before you resign from another job.
Ride with a trainer, then drive solo
New drivers ride routes with experienced trainers until they know their assigned route, then drive solo. The district offers 20- and 30-hour benefited contracts and does not guarantee 40-hour contracts, so plan around a part-time schedule and use the midday gap for a second job or field trip work.
What's in the full Salt Lake City 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 Utah CDL Passenger & School Bus endorsement study guide — the exact material on the two written tests, so you pass the first time. Bundled with your Salt Lake City School District guide at no extra cost, for a limited time.
The real pay tables
Every step of the Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City 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.
Salt Lake City School District bus driver questions
Do I need a CDL to drive a School Bus for Salt Lake City School District?
The district states that applicants without a CDL can be trained to get one, but the train-from-zero program is not confirmed on an official district source. The training length, who pays, and whether trainees are paid while they train are all unpublished. Call Transportation at 801-974-8345 and get the answers before you apply.
How much do Salt Lake City School Bus Drivers make?
Current postings list $17.50 per hour for hourly Bus Drivers, who work up to 29.5 hours a week without benefits, and $18,059 a year for a 20-hour contract position, about $24.81 per hour. Schedule #77 for Bus Operators sets the contract lanes, and a 2026 agreement extended the written agreement five years from July 1, 2026 with a 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment.
Does Salt Lake City School District pay a hiring bonus?
A bonus of up to $1,000 has been described for the 2025-26 school year, paid after you obtain the CDL, finish training and drive 60 consecutive days with excellent attendance. It was not verified on an official district source, and its 2026-27 status is unconfirmed. Ask Transportation whether it is in effect.
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 Salt Lake City School District.
The whole hiring process in one guide — pay, forms, contacts, and the calendar, all in order.