Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 340 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING DRIVER EDUCATION › Section 8VAC20-340-10 - Driver education program

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A.
				In accordance with provisions of the National Highway Safety Act of 1966 ( 23
				USC § 401 et seq.) and § 46.2-334 of the Code of Virginia, local
				school boards shall determine whether to offer a driver education program, and,
				if offered, whether it will be elective or required. School divisions offering
				programs that comply with the standardized program of study and regulations
				established by the Board of Education and the provisions of § 22.1-205 of
				the Code of Virginia are entitled to participate in the distribution of state
				funds for driver education.
B. A
				state-approved driver education program consists of a minimum of 36 periods of
				classroom instruction and 14 periods of in-car instruction. The standardized
				driver education program established by the Board of Education requires that:
1. Classroom and in-car instruction shall
				follow the standardized program of study.
2. Local programs shall have the option that
				classroom driver education may be taught in lieu of 36 class periods of health
				education or as an elective course.
3. Superintendents and heads of private
				schools must seek program approval from the Department of Education prior to
				providing instruction and certify that the proposed program meets all
				state-approved program requirements.
4. The length of a class period must be a
				minimum of 50 minutes.
5. Students
				must drive a minimum of 50 miles during the in-car phase of
				instruction.
6. In-car instruction
				must be limited to no more than two periods of instruction in any 24-hour
				period, of which at least one must be actual driving.
7. No more than four periods of actual
				driving and four periods of observation on a multiple-car-range can count
				towards the 14-period in-car requirement.
8. Combination, on-street, simulation, and
				multiple-car-range programs must provide at least six periods of on-street
				driving and observation, four periods of multiple-car-range driving and
				observation, and eight periods of simulation.
9. Only fees approved by the Board of
				Education shall be collected for the laboratory phase of driver education
				pursuant to the Appropriation Act.
10. Public or private schools must submit
				classroom and in-car driver education teachers' driver license information for
				driver record monitoring as required by § 46.2-340 of the Code of
				Virginia.
11. Local school boards
				must develop written policies concerning initial or continued employment of
				classroom and in-car teachers who receive excessive demerit points on their
				driving record.
12. Public and
				private schools must provide the Department of Education with the previous
				year's program data to calculate in-car basic aid reimbursement and to monitor
				program compliance.
13. Classroom
				and laboratory phases of the program must be offered concurrently at the same
				school, or allow only a limited amount of time to elapse between classroom
				completion and laboratory instruction.
14. Students who have not successfully
				completed the classroom phase at one school cannot begin in-car instruction at
				another school.
15. Successful
				completion of a standardized end-of-course road skills assessment must be
				achieved prior to the school issuing a 90-day provisional license.