Young Adults Driving Safety Act of 2015

To assist young adults with obtaining or regaining driver’s licenses, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Young Adults Driving Safety Act of 2015 2. Grants to assist young adults with obtaining driver’s licenses (a) Grants (1) In general The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, may award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to develop model programs to assist young adults with obtaining or regaining driver’s licenses. (2) Maximum grant award A grant awarded under this section may not exceed $100,000. (b) Use of Funds An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section may use the grant funds to— (1) conduct a comprehensive assessment of the driver’s licensing status of young adults in the neighborhoods in which the majority of the youth to be served by the program reside or attend school; (2) develop and implement strategies to address licensing deficits and barriers young adults and disconnected youth face in obtaining a driver’s license; (3) study the impact of State and local driver’s license suspensions and revocation policies, including the implementation of such policies by municipal courts, on young adults in the areas where the youth who will be served by the program reside or attend school; (4) identify potential sources of funding for high school driver’s education programs for each high school in a school district; (5) develop innovative and cost-effective strategies for preparing young adults for legal driving; (6) evaluate the effectiveness of the funded grant activities in achieving the program goals; and (7) conduct any other activities considered appropriate by the Secretary. (c) Application To receive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. Such application shall describe the following: (1) How the eligible entity proposes to use the grant funds to create a program to assist young adults with obtaining or regaining driver’s licenses. (2) How the eligible entity intends to collaborate with education institutions and organizations with job training programs. (3) How the proposed program is expected to create opportunities for the employment and job training of young adults who participate in the proposed program. (4) How the eligible entity intends to target youth in areas experiencing high levels of unemployment among young adults. (5) How the proposed program is expected to assist low-income young adults and disconnected youth with school and employment. (6) The eligible entity’s history of working with young adults. (7) The eligible entity’s history of assisting individuals in regaining a driver’s license, especially in cases in which the driver’s license was suspended or revoked for non-safety related reasons. (d) Priority In awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities proposing programs to assist low-income young adults with obtaining or regaining driver’s licenses. (e) Definitions In this section: (1) Disconnected youth The term disconnected youth (A) are homeless; (B) are in foster care; (C) have come into contact, or are at risk of coming into contact, with the juvenile justice or criminal justice system; (D) are not employed and not enrolled in school; or (E) are at risk of dropping out of an education institution. (2) Eligible entity The term eligible entity (3) Education institution The term education institution (4) High-need local education agency The term high-need local education agency 20 U.S.C. 6602 (5) Institution of higher education The term institution of higher education 20 U.S.C. 1001 (6) Low-income The term low-income (7) Nonprofit organization The term nonprofit organization section 501(c) (8) Poverty line The term poverty line Public Law 97–35 42 U.S.C. 9902 (9) Secretary The term Secretary (10) Young adult The term young adult (f) Authorization of appropriations To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 each year for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019. 3. Authority to use State Highway safety funds for teen driving education Section 402(m)(2)(A) of title 23, United States Code, is amended— (1) in clause (iv), by striking and (2) by adding at the end the following new clause: (vi) support teen driving education and driving skills improvement; and .

Summary: Young Adults Driving Safety Act of 2015 This bill directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to award competitive grants of up to $100,000 to non-profit organizations, tribal governments, or educational institutions to develop model programs to assist young adults with obtaining or regaining driver's licenses. A recipient may use grant funds to: conduct a comprehensive assessment of the driver's licensing status of young adults in the neighborhoods to be served; develop and implement strategies to address licensing deficits and barriers faced by young adults and disconnected youth (low-income young adults who are homeless, are in foster care, have come into contact with the juvenile justice or criminal justice system, are not employed and not enrolled in school, or are at risk of dropping out of an educational institution) in obtaining a driver's license; study the impact of state and local driver's license suspensions and revocation policies on young adults in the areas to be served; identify potential sources of funding for high school driver's education programs; develop innovative and cost-effective strategies for preparing young adults for legal driving; and evaluate the effectiveness of the funded grant activities in achieving the program goals. The Department of Transportation (DOT) shall give priority to entities proposing programs to assist low-income young adults with obtaining or regaining driver's licenses. Statewide efforts to improve traffic safety for teen drivers, for which states may use DOT-approved highway safety program funds, shall include peer-to-peer education and prevention strategies in schools and communities designed to support teen driving education and driving skills improvement.