82R6647 VOO-D
By: Christian H.B. No. 2564
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to academic requirements for issuance of an instruction
permit by the Department of Public Safety or a driver education
school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 521.222(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department or 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 issue an instruction permit, including a Class A or
Class B driver's license instruction permit, to a person who:
(1) is 15 years of age or older but under 18 years of
age;
(2) has satisfactorily completed and passed the
classroom phase of an approved driver education course, which may
be a course approved under Section 521.205;
(3) meets the requirements imposed under Section
521.204(3); [and]
(4) has passed each examination required under Section
521.161 other than the driving test; and
(5) meets the requirements established by the
department and the Texas Education Agency under Section 521.2221,
if applicable.
SECTION 2. Subchapter K, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 521.2221 to read as follows:
Sec. 521.2221. ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTRUCTION
PERMIT. The department and the Texas Education Agency jointly
shall adopt rules to ensure that an applicant for an instruction
permit who is enrolled at a public school, home school, or private
school is in good academic standing. The rules must require:
(1) an applicant who is enrolled at a public school to
demonstrate that the applicant:
(A) did not receive a grade lower than the
equivalent of a 70 on a scale of 100 in any state-mandated class for
the most recent grade evaluation period, as that term is defined by
Section 33.081(c), Education Code; and
(B) has performed satisfactorily on all
assessment instruments required of the person under Subchapter B,
Chapter 39, Education Code; and
(2) an applicant who is enrolled at a home school or
private school to demonstrate that the applicant meets academic
standards equivalent to those required for public school students
under Subdivision (1).
SECTION 3. (a) The Department of Public Safety and the
Texas Education Agency shall adopt the rules required by Section
521.2221, Transportation Code, as added by this Act, not later than
January 1, 2012.
(b) The change in law made to Section 521.222(a),
Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an
instruction permit issued on or after the effective date of the
rules adopted under Subsection (a) of this section.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.