Halloween Safety: Be Seen. Be Safe.

Halloween means more children near roadways, often after dark. Drivers should slow down, eliminate distractions, and watch carefully for trick-or-treaters, especially around intersections and parked vehicles.

Families can help by choosing visible costumes, using reflective materials or lights, and reminding children to use sidewalks and look both ways before crossing.

School Training Solutions wishes everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Keeping Focus Strong on Every Route

By October, familiar routes can feel routine, but changing daylight, weather, and student behavior can introduce new challenges.

Smart Horizons offers 15.5 hours of online School Bus Driver In-Service Training across 11 essential topics, helping drivers reinforce safe driving, student management, route awareness, and other critical skills.

Explore In-Service Training

Join the Relaunched OKAPT CARE Network

OKAPT is rebuilding the directory to ensure participant information is current and accurate. Participation is voluntary and helps build a stronger, better-connected transportation community across Oklahoma. Building on Oklahoma’s long tradition of transportation departments helping one another, the CARE Network provides a centralized directory of organizations willing to share assistance, resources, expertise, and support during unforeseen challenges.

Join the Care Network

Build a Stronger Driver Pipeline for 2027

Planning for 2027? Make ELDT theory a clear next step in your driver onboarding process.

As an FMCSA-approved Training Provider, Smart Horizons provides flexible online ELDT theory training, tracks completion, and reports completed training to the FMCSA Training Provider Registry.

Build Your Driver Training Pipeline

School Bus Safety: Help Stop Illegal Passing

Motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses place students at serious risk while they are boarding or leaving the bus. As students return to school, increased traffic makes it especially important for drivers to remain alert and recognize school bus warning signals. Because stopping requirements vary by state and roadway, every motorist should understand the laws where they drive. Help raise awareness and protect students by sharing our free state-by-state guide to school bus stopping laws.

Know when to STOP Around School Buses

Interesting: Tenacious hot springs amoeba sets heat-tolerance record

In a Lassen Volcanic National Park hot spring, scientists have discovered a microbe that can survive in extreme temperatures. The discovery identifies one of the toughest organisms found on Earth.

Read the Entire Article at NASA

The People Behind Stronger Communities

Every day, communities rely on early childhood educators, transportation professionals, and public safety personnel to help people learn, travel, and stay safe.

Smart Horizons provides practical online training and professional development to support the people communities count on.

Explore Our Programs

We Don’t Just Deliver Training—We Build It With You

At Smart Horizons, we are your dedicated courseware development partner. Our experienced instructional designers and media professionals work hand-in-hand with subject matter experts to create custom, high-impact training solutions that fit your goals, timeline, and budget. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. Let’s collaborate to develop training that truly reflects your organization’s needs.

Ready to create something powerful?

Join the Relaunched OKAPT CARE Network

OKAPT is rebuilding the directory to ensure participant information is current and accurate. Participation is voluntary and helps build a stronger, better-connected transportation community across Oklahoma. Building on Oklahoma’s long tradition of transportation departments helping one another, the CARE Network provides a centralized directory of organizations willing to share assistance, resources, expertise, and support during unforeseen challenges.

Join the Care Network

Online ELDT Theory Training—Passenger

If you plan to operate a commercial vehicle that transports passengers, you are required to complete Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) as mandated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). We’re here to help you meet those requirements with flexible, online Passenger Endorsement ELDT theory training that fits your schedule and gets you road ready.

P Endorsement Theory

School Bus Safety: Help Stop Illegal Passing

Motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses place students at serious risk while they are boarding or leaving the bus. As students return to school, increased traffic makes it especially important for drivers to remain alert and recognize school bus warning signals. Because stopping requirements vary by state and roadway, every motorist should understand the laws where they drive. Help raise awareness and protect students by sharing our free state-by-state guide to school bus stopping laws.

Know when to STOP Around School Buses

Interesting: The Neon Flying Squid that can Fly in Formation Above the Ocean

On a research vessel 15 years ago, a group of Japanese scientists documented something that had only previously been described by startled sailors to disbelieving listeners. They saw a formation of squid flying through the air. Read the entire article published in the Guardian.

There are Flying Squid

Take Control of Your Online Training with NexPort Campus

Delivering online training shouldn’t mean adapting your organization to someone else’s system. NexPort Campus provides a flexible web-based learning management platform designed to help organizations deliver, manage, and track online learning.

With integrated student tracking, scalable SaaS delivery, connections with external systems, and customizable branding, organizations can create a learning environment that reflects their identity while giving administrators the tools they need to manage training efficiently. NexPort Campus also operates from a high-availability, secure data center with 99.99% uptime.

Explore NexPort Campus

Contact the NexPort Campus Team

Have You Heard About Bike Buses?

A bike bus is a group of children who ride bicycles to school together along a planned route, usually accompanied by parents or other adult volunteers. Much like a traditional school bus, the group follows a set route and schedule, with students joining at designated “stops” along the way.

The concept is designed to make biking to school safer and more accessible by increasing visibility and providing adult supervision. Bike buses can also reduce vehicle traffic around schools, encourage physical activity, and create a sense of community among participating families. They have become increasingly popular in communities looking for alternative and active transportation options for students. These articles detail program bike-bus roll-outs.

Hamilton
Wilmette
Lincoln Square
Montclair
Tempe

Supporting Drivers and Operations

Keeping school bus drivers trained and ready isn’t just about meeting requirements. It’s about maintaining safe, reliable transportation for your students every day. Our theory options offer flexible, online training built specifically for school bus drivers and transportation teams. Whether you’re onboarding new drivers or supporting experienced staff, our programs are designed to fit your schedule without disrupting operations.

Explore School Training Solutions

We Don’t Just Deliver Training—We Build It With You

At Smart Horizons, we are your dedicated courseware development partner. Our experienced instructional designers and media professionals work hand-in-hand with subject matter experts to create custom, high-impact training solutions that fit your goals, timeline, and budget. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. Let’s collaborate to develop training that truly reflects your organization’s needs.

Ready to create something powerful?

Now’s the Perfect Time to Tackle Annual Training!

Because we understand that one size doesn’t fit all, our Custom option allows you to choose the exact lessons your team needs. Whether you’re focusing on in-service, professional development, or building career ladders, you can tailor a training plan that aligns with your goals. Many districts even use these customized training plans as part of their promotion or wage increase criteria.

Create a Custom Training Plan

Online ELDT Theory Training—HAZMAT

Before taking the Hazardous Materials (H) endorsement knowledge test, drivers must complete the required ELDT theory training. Our online, self-paced course meets FMCSA requirements, and completion is automatically reported to the Training Provider Registry. Complete your training anytime, anywhere, and move one step closer to adding the Hazmat endorsement to your CDL.

Enhance Your CDL

Interesting: An Amateur Astronomer Finds Prehistoric Meteorite Crater

What began as a routine search for hiking routes on Google Maps led an amateur astronomer to a remarkable discovery. He noticed a strange, 15.5-mile-wide circular formation in northeastern Quebec that appeared to be a meteorite crater. Scientists later investigated the site and confirmed that the formation was created by a meteorite impact approximately 390 million years ago. Read how curiosity, technology, and careful observation helped uncover an ancient geological feature hidden in plain sight.

Discover the Crater

Challenges Facing Today’s School Bus Driver Workforce

School transportation departments across the country continue to face growing workforce challenges. As experienced drivers retire and recruitment becomes increasingly competitive, many districts are working to find ways to strengthen driver readiness, improve retention, and support long-term transportation operations.

School Training Solutions offers flexible online theory training designed to support school bus drivers and today’s evolving transportation workforce.

Strengthen Driver Readiness

School Bus Safety: Help Stop Illegal Passing

Motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses place students at serious risk while they are boarding or leaving the bus. As students return to school, increased traffic makes it especially important for drivers to remain alert and recognize school bus warning signals. Because stopping requirements vary by state and roadway, every motorist should understand the laws where they drive. Help raise awareness and protect students by sharing our free state-by-state guide to school bus stopping laws.

Know when to STOP Around School Buses