SECTIONS 41900-41919 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 41900-41919

41900. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allow to each
school district maintaining a high school or high schools, county
superintendent of schools, the Department of the Youth Authority, and
the State Department of Education an amount equal to the actual
cost, but not in excess of ninety-seven dollars ($97) per pupil
instructed in the laboratory phase of driver education in accordance
with Sections 41902 and 41905 and with regulations set forth by the
State Board of Education to the districts, county superintendents of
schools, the Department of the Youth Authority, and the State
Department of Education for instructing pupils in the laboratory
phase of driver education.

41901. The governing board of each school district maintaining a
high school or high schools, each county superintendent of schools,
the California Youth Authority, and the State Department of Education
shall report annually to the county superintendent of schools and to
the Superintendent of Public Instruction on forms provided by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the cost of instructing such
pupils, and other information that may be required for the
computation of the total direct and direct support cost incurred in
the instruction of the pupils in automobile driver training.

41902. Allowances by the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
be made only for driver training classes maintained in accordance
with the rules and regulations as set forth by the State Board of
Education.
Driver training may be made available to eligible students and, if
made available, no tuition shall be charged. The governing board of
a district maintaining a high school or high schools, the county
superintendent of schools, the California Youth Authority, and the
State Department of Education may make driver training available
during school hours, or at other times, or any combination thereof.

41903. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall determine the
amount of total direct and direct support cost incurred by each
school district, each county superintendent of schools, the
Department of the Youth Authority, and the State Department of
Education during each current fiscal year for the establishment and
maintenance of automobile driver training for pupils enrolled in the
schools of the district, the county superintendent of schools, the
Department of the Youth Authority, and the State Department of
Education in accordance with regulations that he or she may
prescribe.
"Total direct and direct support cost," as used in this section,
includes the total current expenditures incurred for instructing
pupils in automobile driver training in special classes, including,
but not limited to, automobile replacement, insurance, and upkeep and
maintenance of automobiles used in the training.
"Special classes," as used in this section, includes classes
providing automobile driver training for pupils who may be excused,
for the purpose of taking instruction in automobile driver training.

41904. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may promote and
direct the establishment and maintenance of courses of instruction in
automobile driver education and driver training in the public
schools. For this purpose, the superintendent may employ professional
and other personnel as necessary to give full effect to this
article. There is hereby established within the State Department of
Education a unit for driver instruction to be comprised of three
consultants and necessary support staff. All necessary costs and
expenses incurred for purposes of this section shall be provided for
from funds that may be appropriated by the Legislature from the
Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund.

41905. No allowance shall be made under this article for the
instruction of pupils in automobile driver training unless the school
district, the county superintendent of schools, the California Youth
Authority, and the State Department of Education has complied with
the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education governing
the establishment, conduct, and scope of automobile driver education
and driver training, except that such rules and regulations shall not
relate in any way to teacher certification or licensing.

41906. In applying for state reimbursement for driver training
expenses incurred in the school year 1968-69 and thereafter, school
districts, county superintendents of schools, the California Youth
Authority, and the State Department of Education shall certify to
having met the requirements set forth in this article and, in
addition, shall certify that all teachers used in the driver
education or driver training programs are qualified instructors, as
defined in Section 41907.

41907. A qualified instructor is one who has passed an approved
driver's instruction examination and holds a designated subjects
credential or who holds a valid prior credential authorizing
instruction in automobile driver education and driver training.

41907.5. (a) Any waiver granted by the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing of the credentialing requirements specified in Section
41907 shall not extend beyond one year unless the individual to whom
the waiver was granted demonstrates substantial progress toward
meeting those credentialing requirements.
(b) This section shall be implemented only upon certification by
the Commission on Teacher Credentialing that it has developed
alternative routes to coursework requirements authorized pursuant to
Section 44260.7, and that reasonable opportunities exist for
prospective credentialholders to receive this coursework.

41908. The governing board of any school district employing persons
exclusively to teach driver training shall adopt and make public a
salary schedule setting the daily or pay period rate or rates for
such persons. Salary amounts and criteria for advancement contained
in any salary schedule adopted pursuant to this section shall be
established at the sole discretion of the governing board.

41909. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall make an
additional allowance to each school district maintaining a high
school or high schools, each county superintendent of schools, the
California Youth Authority, and the State Department of Education as
reimbursement for the actual expense of replacing vehicles used
exclusively in automobile driver training programs and of replacing
simulators used in such programs, but the amount shall not exceed
three-fourths of that part of the actual cost of instructing pupils
in automobile driver training during the preceding fiscal year which
was: (1) in excess of eighty dollars ($80) per pupil instructed, and
(2) expended by the district, the county superintendent of schools,
California Youth Authority, or State Department of Education
replacing the vehicles and simulators. Reimbursement for vehicle
shall be computed for only that portion of the total mileage used
exclusively in driver training programs.
For purposes of computing reimbursement, whenever a school
district, a county superintendent of schools, the California Youth
Authority, or the State Department of Education replaces a driver
training vehicle or simulator purchased by the district, the county
superintendent of schools, California Youth Authority, or Department
of Education with a vehicle or simulator that is a gift or loan, the
purchase price of the new or acquired equipment shall be deemed to be
the market value of the vehicle or simulator acquired through a gift
or loan.

41910. The Department of Education may grant waivers of automobile
driver training education provisions of the Education Code for the
purpose of establishing experimental driver education programs
directed toward improving cost effectiveness in the reduction of
traffic crashes. Waivers under this section shall not increase
program reimbursements authorized pursuant to Sections 41304 and
41306.

41911. The allowances made to the several school districts and
county superintendents of schools, and to the California Youth
Authority and Department of Education under Sections 41900 and 41909
shall, when the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that
the funds credited to the Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund
during the preceding fiscal year will be insufficient to provide the
full amounts otherwise allowable, be proportionately reduced.

41912. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) To assist in reducing the number of fatalities involving
youthful drivers, a minimum standard of six hours of behind-the-wheel
driver training conducted by a public or private secondary school,
or by a qualified instructor of a licensed private driving school,
shall be established.
(2) According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, traffic crashes are the number one killer of
teenagers. Per mile driven, teenage drivers are involved in accidents
four times as often as adults.
(3) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youths 16
to 20 years of age. Nationwide, about 6,000 youths 16 to 20 years of
age, die each year in traffic accidents. Teenage drivers represent
about 7 percent of the country's population, but account for about 17
percent of the victims of fatal crashes.
(4) According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, during 1993,
4,163 people were killed and 315,184 were injured in traffic
accidents across the state.
(5) According to the National Safety Council, driver error causes
69 percent of all automobile collisions. Annually, 11,900,000
accidents occur nationwide resulting in 2,000,000 injuries and 42,000
fatalities. Automobile accidents cost one hundred sixty-seven
billion dollars ($167,000,000,000) annually.
(6) The Department of Motor Vehicles has introduced the first
major revision of the driver's license test since 1933, in
recognition of a need to require first-time drivers to pass an
examination representative of the complex driving conditions
confronting motorists throughout the state. A minimum of six hours of
behind-the-wheel driver training conducted by a public or private
secondary school, or by a qualified instructor of a licensed private
driving school, is required to prepare the first-time driver under 18
years of age to pass this examination.
(b) The expressed purpose of the Legislature is that highway
accidents can and must be reduced through the education and training
of drivers prior to licensing, and that this instruction properly
belongs in the high school curriculum on a basis of having comparable
standards of instruction, quality, teacher-pupil ratio and class
scheduling in driver education as in other courses in the regular
academic program. Only through a high quality program of driver
instruction can the greatest potential in traffic accident prevention
be realized. Further, the state has a responsibility to share in the
reasonable costs of providing those courses.

41913. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing
board of any school district maintaining secondary schools, may,
subject to Sections 41913 to 41919, inclusive, enter into contracts
with approved private driver training schools to provide to any or
all of the eligible enrolled students of the district, the automobile
driver training as provided pursuant to Section 51852. No such
contract shall be valid unless approved by the governing board. The
driver training provided under contract by an approved private driver
training school shall be under the exclusive control and management
of the governing board of the school district and shall comply with
all rules and regulations of the State Board of Education relating to
driver training offered by the public schools, except that a driver
training instructor of the approved private driver training school
shall not be required to possess any teaching credential or
certification document of any kind except as required by the Driving
School Department of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Nothing in
this section shall prohibit the governing board from entering into
contracts with more than one approved private driver training school
and apportioning students among such schools.
Upon approval of the contract, the governing board shall transmit
a copy of the signed contract to the State Department of Education.

41914. As used in this article, an "approved private driver
training school" is one which:
(a) Has a valid license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles
pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 11100) of Division 5
of the Vehicle Code.
(b) Maintains at all times limits of liability insurance
established by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction equal
to that required of the contracting school district.
(c) Provides, for such automobile driving instruction,
dual-control automobiles approved by the Department of Motor
Vehicles.
(d) Meets such other requirements as shall be established by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction.

41915. Any contract entered into and approved in the manner
provided pursuant to Section 41913 may entitle the approved driver
training school to payment by the school district of the sum of not
more than 150 percent of the amount reimbursable to the school
district as "excess cost" provided pursuant to Sections 41306, 41900,
and 41903. In the event that a student who has commenced the driver
training for which the district has contracted pursuant to Section
41913 and the student does not complete the driver training for any
reason, the approved private driver training school may be paid a
portion of the contract price which is proportionate to the amount in
"excess cost," if any, received by the school district for such
student, compared to the amount the district would have received had
the student completed the training.

41916. Upon presentment to the governing board by the approved
private driver training school written verification of the name,
school, dates, and times of each automobile driver training
instruction lesson and such other information required by the
governing board, the approved private driver training school shall be
paid the contract amount as determined pursuant to Section 41915.

41917. The governing board of any school district shall be entitled
to reimbursement for driver training provided by approved private
driver training schools pursuant to this article in the amount
authorized pursuant to Section 41900, upon certifying to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction the number of pupils for whom
automobile driver training instruction lessons was provided pursuant
to Sections 41913 to 41919, inclusive.

41918. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 41907, a regular
employee of a contracting approved private driver training school
shall be a qualified instructor for automobile driver training
provided that:
(a) He holds a valid driver instructor license issued by the
Department of Motor Vehicles, and
(b) He has completed the driver instructor course required by the
Department of Motor Vehicles.

41919. No approved private driver training school may enter into a
contract pursuant to this article unless it has, at the time of
entering into the contract, been operating in the State of California
for at least 24 consecutive months.
A contracting approved private driver training school shall
provide instruction pursuant to one of the plans authorized pursuant
to Section 51852.