Bill Text: TX SB1624 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the licensing and regulation of driver education schools and instructors; authorizing fees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-14 - Referred to Transportation [SB1624 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB1624-Introduced.html

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86R12587 SOS-F
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1624

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the licensing and regulation of driver education
schools and instructors; authorizing fees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1001.001(7), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(7) "Driver education school" means an enterprise
that:
(A) maintains a place of business or solicits
business in this state; and
(B) is operated by an individual, association,
partnership, or corporation for educating and training persons [at
a primary or branch location] in driver education or driver
education instructor development.
SECTION 2. Section 1001.151(e), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) The commission may establish a fee for an application
for approval to offer a driver education course [by an alternative
method of instruction under Section 1001.3541].
SECTION 3. Section 1001.204(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The department shall approve an application for a driver
education school license if the application is submitted on a form
approved by the department [executive director], the application is
accompanied by [includes] the fee, and the department determines
[on inspection of the premises of the school, it is determined] that
the school:
(1) has courses, curricula, and instruction of a
quality, content, and length that reasonably and adequately achieve
the stated objective for which the courses, curricula, and
instruction are offered;
(2) has adequate space, equipment, instructional
material, and instructors to provide training of good quality in
the classroom and behind the wheel, if applicable;
(3) has instructors who have adequate educational
qualifications and experience;
(4) provides to each student before enrollment:
(A) a copy of:
(i) the refund policy;
(ii) the schedule of tuition, fees, and
other charges; and
(iii) the regulations relating to absence,
grading policy, and rules of operation and conduct; and
(B) the department's name, mailing address,
telephone number, and Internet website address for the purpose of
directing complaints to the department;
(5) maintains adequate records as prescribed by the
department to show attendance and progress or grades and enforces
satisfactory standards relating to attendance, progress, and
conduct;
(6) on completion of training, issues each student a
certificate indicating the course name and satisfactory
completion;
(7) complies with all county, municipal, state, and
federal regulations, including fire, building, and sanitation
codes and assumed name registration, if applicable;
(8) is financially sound and capable of fulfilling its
commitments for training;
(9) maintains and publishes as part of its student
enrollment contract the proper policy for the refund of the unused
portion of tuition, fees, and other charges if a student fails to
take the course or withdraws or is discontinued from the school at
any time before completion;
(10) does not use erroneous or misleading advertising,
either by actual statement, omission, or intimation, as determined
by the department;
(11) does not use a name similar to the name of another
existing school or tax-supported educational institution in this
state, unless specifically approved in writing by the executive
director;
(12) submits to the department for approval the
applicable course hour lengths and curriculum content for each
course offered by the school;
(13) does not owe an administrative penalty for a
violation of this chapter; [and]
(14) meets any additional criteria required by the
department, including any applicable inspection requirements; and
(15) provides adequate testing and security measures
for the school's method of instruction.
SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 1001, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 1001.2531, 1001.2532, 1001.2533,
1001.2534, and 1001.2535 to read as follows:
Sec. 1001.2531. DRIVER EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR REQUIREMENTS.
(a) The commission by rule shall establish standards for a driver
education instructor to be certified as a teaching assistant,
driver education teacher, or supervising teacher.
(b) An applicant for a driver education instructor license
under this section must:
(1) apply to the department on a form prescribed by the
department and under rules adopted by the commission;
(2) submit with the application a nonrefundable
application fee in an amount set by commission rule; and
(3) present satisfactory evidence to the department
that the applicant:
(A) is at least 21 years of age;
(B) holds a high school diploma or high school
equivalency certificate; and
(C) meets any other requirement established by
commission rule.
Sec. 1001.2532. TEACHING ASSISTANT. (a) A teaching
assistant is a driver education instructor who is authorized to
teach or provide only behind-the-wheel training.
(b) To be eligible to be certified as a teaching assistant,
a driver education instructor must:
(1) have successfully completed:
(A) six semester hours of driver and traffic
safety education from an accredited college or university; or
(B) a teaching assistant development course
approved by the department; and
(2) pass any required examination.
Sec. 1001.2533. DRIVER EDUCATION TEACHER. (a) A driver
education teacher is a driver education instructor who is
authorized to teach or provide behind-the-wheel training and
classroom training.
(b) To be eligible to be certified as a driver education
teacher, a driver education instructor must:
(1) have successfully completed:
(A) nine semester hours of driver and traffic
safety education from an accredited college or university; or
(B) a driver education teacher development
course approved by the department;
(2) pass any required examination; and
(3) comply with the additional requirements under
Section 1001.2535.
Sec. 1001.2534. SUPERVISING TEACHER. (a) A supervising
teacher is a driver education instructor who is authorized to teach
instructor training classes.
(b) To be eligible to be certified as a supervising teacher,
a driver education instructor must:
(1) have been certified as a driver education teacher
for at least one year; and
(2) have successfully completed:
(A) 15 semester hours of driver and traffic
safety education from an accredited college or university; or
(B) a supervising teacher development course
approved by the department; and
(3) comply with the additional requirements under
Section 1001.2535.
Sec. 1001.2535. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVER
EDUCATION TEACHER AND SUPERVISING TEACHER. (a) In addition to the
requirements under Section 1001.2533 or 1001.2534, as applicable,
to be eligible to be certified as a driver education teacher or
supervising teacher, a driver education instructor must:
(1) hold a teaching certificate and any additional
certification required by commission rule to teach driver
education;
(2) have completed 15 semester hours in education
courses at an accredited college or university during the 10 years
before the application date; or
(3) have obtained an associate or baccalaureate degree
in education from an accredited college or university.
(b) The commission, department, or executive director may
adopt an alternative method to determine or verify an instructor's
eligibility under Subsection (a).
SECTION 5. Subchapter H, Chapter 1001, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 1001.3542 to read as follows:
Sec. 1001.3542. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION FOR DRIVER EDUCATION
COURSE. A driver education school may teach a driver education
course by any method approved by the department, including an
alternative method under Section 1001.3541 or a traditional method
under Subchapter C.
SECTION 6. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Sections 1001.253, 1001.254, and 1001.256; and
(2) Section 1001.3541(b).
SECTION 7. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Texas Commission on Licensing and Regulation
shall adopt rules to implement Section 1001.204(b), Education Code,
as amended by this Act, and Section 1001.2531, Education Code, as
added by this Act.
(b) A driver education instructor license issued under
Section 1001.253, Education Code, before the repeal of that section
by this Act, continues to be valid until the license expires, and
former Section 1001.253, Education Code, is continued in effect for
that purpose.
(c) A person who holds on the effective date of this Act a
driver education instructor license described by former Section
1001.253(b), Education Code, is entitled on expiration of that
license to issuance of a driver education instructor license
certified as a teaching assistant under Section 1001.2532,
Education Code, as added by this Act, if the person otherwise meets
the requirements for renewal of a driver education instructor
license certified as a teaching assistant.
(d) A person who holds on the effective date of this Act a
driver education instructor license described by former Section
1001.253(c), Education Code, is entitled on expiration of that
license to issuance of a driver education instructor license
certified as a driver education teacher under Section 1001.2533,
Education Code, as added by this Act, if the person otherwise meets
the requirements for renewal of a driver education instructor
license certified as a driver education teacher.
(e) A person who holds on the effective date of this Act a
driver education instructor license described by former Section
1001.253(e), Education Code, is entitled on expiration of that
license to issuance of a driver education instructor license
certified as a supervising teacher under Section 1001.2534,
Education Code, as added by this Act, if the person otherwise meets
the requirements for renewal of a driver education instructor
license certified as a supervising teacher.
(f) The changes in law made by this Act do not affect the
validity of a disciplinary action or other proceeding that was
initiated before the effective date of this Act and that is pending
before a court or other governmental entity on the effective date of
this Act.
(g) Sections 1001.2531, 1001.2532, 1001.2533, 1001.2534,
and 1001.2535, Education Code, as added by this Act, apply only to
an application for, or renewal of, an instructor license submitted
to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application submitted before that
date is governed by the law in effect when the application was
submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.