Bill Text: IA SF2314 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to third-party testers and test examiners authorized to administer knowledge and final field tests to persons seeking a driver's permit or driver's license.(Formerly SSB 3086.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-06 - Amendment S-5051 filed. S.J. 460. [SF2314 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2023-SF2314-Introduced.html
Senate File 2314 - Introduced SENATE FILE 2314 BY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3086) A BILL FOR An Act relating to third-party testers and test examiners 1 authorized to administer knowledge and final field tests to 2 persons seeking a driver’s permit or driver’s license. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5563SV (2) 90 th/ns
S.F. 2314 Section 1. Section 321.178, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 1 2024, is amended to read as follows: 2 c. Every public school district in Iowa shall offer 3 or make available to all students residing in the school 4 district, or Iowa students attending a nonpublic school or 5 receiving competent private instruction or independent private 6 instruction as defined in section 299A.1 , in the district, an 7 approved course in driver education. The receiving district 8 shall be the school district responsible for making driver 9 education available to a student participating in open 10 enrollment under section 282.18 . The courses may be offered 11 at sites other than at the public school, including nonpublic 12 school facilities within the public school districts. An 13 approved course offered during the summer months, on Saturdays, 14 after regular school hours during the regular terms or partly 15 in one term or summer vacation period and partly in the 16 succeeding term or summer vacation period, as the case may 17 be, shall satisfy the requirements of this section to the 18 same extent as an approved course offered during the regular 19 school hours of the school term. A student who successfully 20 completes and obtains certification in an approved course in 21 driver education or an approved course in motorcycle education 22 may, upon proof of such fact, be excused from any field test 23 which the student would otherwise be required to take in 24 demonstrating the student’s ability to operate a motor vehicle. 25 A student shall not be excused from any field test if a parent, 26 guardian, or instructor requests that a test be administered. 27 A final field test prior to a student’s completion of an 28 approved course shall be administered by a person qualified to 29 provide street or highway driving instruction under paragraph 30 “b” , subparagraph (2) , or a person authorized under section 31 321.187, subsection 2A . 32 Sec. 2. Section 321.178A, subsection 5, Code 2024, is 33 amended to read as follows: 34 5. Intermediate license. Any student who successfully 35 -1- LSB 5563SV (2) 90 th/ns 1/ 4
S.F. 2314 completes an approved course as provided in this section , 1 passes a driving test to be administered by the department or a 2 person authorized under section 321.187, subsection 2A , and is 3 otherwise qualified under section 321.180B, subsection 2 , shall 4 be eligible for an intermediate license pursuant to section 5 321.180B . Twenty of the thirty hours of street or highway 6 driving instruction required under subsection 3 , paragraph “a” , 7 subparagraph (1), may be used to satisfy the requirement of 8 section 321.180B, subsection 2 . 9 Sec. 3. Section 321.187, Code 2024, is amended by adding the 10 following new subsections: 11 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. The department shall designate 12 third-party testers to administer the knowledge test required 13 under section 321.186, the driving test under section 321.178A, 14 subsection 5, and the final field test under section 321.178, 15 subsection 1, paragraph “c” , provided all of the following 16 occur: 17 a. The test is the same as that which would otherwise be 18 administered by the state. 19 b. The third-party tester contractually agrees to comply 20 with the rules adopted by the department. 21 c. Any third-party test examiner used by the third-party 22 tester meets the requirements applicable to third-party 23 knowledge skills testing, as adopted by rule by the department. 24 Any of the following persons shall qualify as a third-party 25 test examiner: 26 (1) A person who is a classroom driver education instructor 27 and qualified to provide street or highway driving instruction 28 under section 321.178. 29 (2) A person who is qualified to provide street or highway 30 driving instruction under section 321.178 who has five years of 31 continuous driving instruction experience or who has at least 32 two years of such experience and provides such instruction for 33 more than one hundred hours per year. 34 d. A third-party test examiner who examines a person 35 -2- LSB 5563SV (2) 90 th/ns 2/ 4
S.F. 2314 with a physical or mental disability is a certified driver 1 rehabilitation specialist or a driver rehabilitation 2 professional, or has been issued a specialized instructor 3 badge, and any such certification, designation, or badge 4 is granted by the association of driver rehabilitation 5 specialists. 6 NEW SUBSECTION . 2B. The department shall adopt rules 7 pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section. 8 EXPLANATION 9 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 10 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 11 Current law authorizes the department of transportation 12 (DOT) to examine every new applicant for a driver’s license, 13 any person holding a valid driver’s license when the DOT has 14 reason to believe that the person may be physically or mentally 15 incompetent to operate a motor vehicle, and any person whose 16 driving record appears to the DOT to justify the examination. 17 In addition, a final field test prior to a student’s completion 18 of an approved driver education course must be administered 19 by a person qualified to provide street or highway driving 20 instruction. The DOT is also currently authorized to designate 21 third-party testers to administer commercial driver’s license 22 knowledge and driving skills tests. 23 This bill authorizes the DOT to likewise designate 24 third-party testers to administer the required knowledge and 25 final field tests or driving tests, as applicable, for other 26 driver’s licenses. 27 The bill describes persons who are authorized to administer 28 such tests (test examiner), including persons who are already 29 authorized as a classroom driver education instructor and 30 qualified to provide street or highway driving instruction 31 under Code section 321.178 and persons who are qualified to 32 provide street or highway driving instruction under Code 33 section 321.178 who have five years of continuous driving 34 instruction experience or who have at least two years of such 35 -3- LSB 5563SV (2) 90 th/ns 3/ 4
S.F. 2314 experience and provide such instruction for more than 100 hours 1 per year. The DOT may authorize additional persons who meet 2 eligibility criteria determined by the DOT by administrative 3 rules. 4 The bill requires a third-party test examiner who examines a 5 person with a physical or mental disability to be a certified 6 driver rehabilitation specialist or a driver rehabilitation 7 professional, or to have been issued a specialized instructor 8 badge, and any such certification, designation, or badge 9 must be granted by the association of driver rehabilitation 10 specialists. 11 A person who passes a test administered by a third-party test 12 examiner must still apply to the DOT for issuance of a permit 13 or license. 14 -4- LSB 5563SV (2) 90 th/ns 4/ 4
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