81R9741 JD-F
By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1317
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to education and examination requirements for the issuance
of a driver's license to certain persons.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 521.142(d), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) If the applicant is under 25 years of age, the
application must state whether the applicant has completed a driver
education course required by Section 521.1601 [approved by the
department].
SECTION 2. The heading to Subchapter H, Chapter 521,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. EDUCATION AND EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS
SECTION 3. Subchapter H, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 521.1601 and 521.167 to read as
follows:
Sec. 521.1601. DRIVER EDUCATION REQUIRED. The department
may not issue a driver's license to a person who is younger than 25
years of age unless the person submits to the department a driver
education certificate issued under Chapter 1001, Education Code,
that states that the person has completed and passed:
(1) a driver education and traffic safety course
approved by the Texas Education Agency under Section 29.902,
Education Code, or a driver education course approved by that
agency under Section 1001.101(a)(1) of that code or approved by the
department under Section 521.205; or
(2) if the person is 18 years of age or older, a driver
education course approved by the Texas Education Agency under
Section 1001.101(a)(1) or (2), Education Code.
Sec. 521.167. WAIVER OF CERTAIN EDUCATION AND EXAMINATION
REQUIREMENTS. (a) A person who has completed and passed a driver
education and traffic safety course approved by the Texas Education
Agency under Section 29.902, Education Code, or a driver education
course approved by that agency under Section 1001.101(a)(1) of that
code or approved by the department under Section 521.205 is not
required to:
(1) complete a driver education course established
under Section 1001.101(a)(2), Education Code; or
(2) take any part of the examination required under
Section 521.161(b)(2) that:
(A) is included under the behind-the-wheel
components of a driver education course; and
(B) has been successfully completed as
determined by an appropriately licensed or certified driver
education instructor or by a relative or guardian approved by the
department under Section 521.205 to conduct a driver education
course for the person.
(b) A person who has completed and passed a driver education
course approved by the Texas Education Agency under Section
1001.101(a)(2), Education Code, is not required to take the highway
sign and traffic law parts of the examination required under
Section 521.161 if those parts have been successfully completed as
determined by a licensed driver education instructor.
SECTION 4. Sections 521.165(a) and (c), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The director may certify and set standards for the
certification of certain employers, government agencies, public
schools conducting a driver education and traffic safety program
under Section 29.902, Education Code, and other appropriate
organizations, including a driver education school licensed under
Chapter 1001, Education Code, to allow those persons to train and
test for the ability to operate certain types of vehicles.
(c) In issuing a driver's license for certain types of
vehicles, the director shall [may] waive a driving test for an
applicant who has successfully completed and passed the training
and testing conducted by a person certified under Subsection (a).
SECTION 5. Section 521.1655, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 521.1655. TESTING BY DRIVER EDUCATION SCHOOL. (a) A
driver education school licensed under Chapter 1001, Education
Code, [the Texas Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act (Article
4413(29c), Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)] may administer to a
student of that school the [vision,] highway sign[,] and traffic
law parts of the examination required by Section 521.161.
(b) An examination administered under this section complies
with the examination requirements of this subchapter as to the
parts of the examination administered. The department shall accept
the passing results of an examination administered under this
section.
SECTION 6. Section 521.204(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may issue a Class C driver's license to
an applicant under 18 years of age only if the applicant:
(1) is 16 years of age or older;
(2) has submitted to the department a driver education
certificate issued under Chapter 1001, Education Code [Section 9A,
Texas Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act (Article 4413(29c),
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)], that states that the person has
completed and passed a driver education and traffic safety course
approved by the Texas Education Agency under Section 29.902,
Education Code, or a driver education course approved by that
agency under Section 1001.101(a)(1) of that code or approved by the
department under Section 521.205 [or by the Texas Education
Agency];
(3) has obtained a high school diploma or its
equivalent or is a student:
(A) enrolled in a public school, home school, or
private school who attended school for at least 90 percent of [80
days in] the fall or spring semester preceding the date of the
driver's license application; or
(B) who has been enrolled for at least 45 days,
and is enrolled as of the date of the application, in a program to
prepare persons to pass the high school equivalency exam; and
(4) has passed the examination required by Section
521.161.
SECTION 7. Section 1001.004, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1001.004. COST OF ADMINISTERING CHAPTER. (a) Except
as provided by Subsection (b), the [The] cost of administering this
chapter shall be included in the state budget allowance for the
agency.
(b) The commissioner may charge a fee to each driver
education school in an amount not to exceed the actual expense
incurred in the regulation of driver education courses established
under Section 1001.101(a)(2).
SECTION 8. Section 1001.055, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) The agency shall print and supply to each licensed or
exempt driver education school driver education certificates to be
used for certifying completion of an approved driver education
course to satisfy the requirements of Sections [Section]
521.204(a)(2) and 521.1601, Transportation Code. The certificates
must be numbered serially.
(d) A licensed or exempt driver education school shall
electronically submit to the agency in the manner established by
the agency data identified by the agency relating to driver
education certificates issued by the school.
SECTION 9. Section 1001.101, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1001.101. DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE CURRICULUM AND
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS [TEXTBOOKS]. (a) The commissioner by rule
shall establish the curriculum and designate the educational
materials [textbooks] to be used in:
(1) a driver education course for minors and adults;
and
(2) a driver education course exclusively for adults.
(b) A driver education course under Subsection (a)(2) must:
(1) be a six-hour course; and
(2) include instruction in:
(A) alcohol and drug awareness;
(B) the traffic laws of this state;
(C) highway signs, signals, and markings that
regulate, warn, or direct traffic; and
(D) the issues commonly associated with motor
vehicle accidents, including poor decision-making, risk taking,
impaired driving, distraction, speed, failure to use a safety belt,
driving at night, failure to yield the right-of-way, and using a
wireless communication device while operating a vehicle.
(c) A course approved under Subsection (a)(2) may be offered
as an online course.
(d) A driving safety course or a drug and alcohol driving
awareness program may not be approved as a driver education course
under Subsection (a)(2).
SECTION 10. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
application for the issuance of a driver's license filed on or after
the effective date of this Act. An application for the issuance of
a driver's license filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date of the filing, and that law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.