2023 Iowa Code › Title VIII - TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 321 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD › Section 321.178A - Driver education — teaching parent.

321.178A Driver education — teaching parent.
1. Teaching parent. As an alternative to the driver education requirements under section 321.178, a teaching parent may instruct a student in a driver education course that meets the requirements of this section and provide evidence that the requirements under this section have been met.
2. Definitions. For purposes of this section:
a. “Approved course” means driver education curriculum approved by the department pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 17A. An approved course shall, at a minimum, meet the requirements of subsection 3 and be appropriate for teaching-parent-directed driver education and related street or highway instruction. Driver education materials that meet or exceed standards established by the department for an approved course in driver education for a public or private school shall be approved unless otherwise determined by the department. The list of approved courses shall be posted on the department’s internet site.
b. “Student” means a person between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one years who is within the custody and control of the teaching parent and who satisfies preliminary licensing requirements of the department.
c. “Teaching parent” means a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a student who is meeting the attendance requirement of section 299.1, subsection 1; who has a valid driver’s license, other than a motorized bicycle license or a temporary restricted license, that permits unaccompanied driving; and who has maintained a clear driving record for the previous two years. For purposes of this paragraph, “clear driving record” means the individual has not been identified as a candidate for suspension or revocation of a driver’s license under the habitual violator or habitual offender provisions of the department’s regulations; is not subject to a driver’s license suspension, revocation, denial, cancellation, disqualification, or bar; and has no record of a conviction for a moving traffic violation determined to be the cause of a motor vehicle accident.
3. Course of instruction.
a. An approved course administered by a teaching parent shall consist of but not be limited to the following:
(1) Thirty hours of street or highway driving including three hours of driving after sunset and before sunrise while accompanied by a teaching parent or a person who is qualified to provide street or highway driving instruction pursuant to section 321.178.
(2) Instruction concerning substance abuse and distracted driving.
(3) Instruction concerning railroad crossing safety.
(4) Instruction relating to becoming an organ donor under the revised uniform anatomical gift Act as provided in chapter 142C.
(5) Instruction providing an awareness about sharing the road with pedestrians, bicycles, and motorcycles.
b. The content of the course of instruction required under this subsection shall be equivalent to that required under section 321.178. However, reference and study materials, physical classroom requirements, actual classroom hours and minutes, and extra vehicle safety equipment required for instruction under section 321.178 shall not be required for the course of instruction provided under this section.
4. Course completion and certification. Upon application by a student for an intermediate license, the teaching parent shall provide evidence showing the student’s completion of an approved course and substantial compliance with the requirements of subsection 3 by affidavit signed by the teaching parent on a form to be provided by the department. The evidence shall include all of the following:
a. Documentation that the instructor is a teaching parent as defined in subsection 2.
b. Documentation that the teaching parent is meeting the attendance requirement of section 299.1, subsection 1.
c. The name of the approved course completed by the student.
d. An affidavit attesting to satisfactory completion of course work and street or highway driving instruction.
e. Copies of written tests completed by the student or lesser documentation as may be required by the department.
f. A statement of the number of classroom hours of instruction.
g. A log of completed street or highway driving instruction including the dates when the lessons were conducted, notes on driving activities including a list of driving deficiencies and improvements, and the duration of the driving time for each session.
5. Intermediate license. Any student who successfully completes an approved course as provided in this section, passes a driving test to be administered by the department, and is otherwise qualified under section 321.180B, subsection 2, shall be eligible for an intermediate license pursuant to section 321.180B. Twenty of the thirty hours of street or highway driving instruction required under subsection 3, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (1), may be used to satisfy the requirement of section 321.180B, subsection 2.
6. Full license. A student must comply with section 321.180B, subsection 4, to be eligible for a full driver’s license pursuant to section 321.180B.
7. Applicability. This section shall not be construed to require a teaching parent to apply for or seek approval of the department separate from the course completion and certification requirements of subsection 4.
2013 Acts, ch 121, §100; 2021 Acts, ch 88, §10 – 15; 2021 Acts, ch 121, §2
Referred to in §321.180B