GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

S	3 

SENATE BILL 1543
Second Edition Engrossed 7/5/90
Appropriations Committee Substitute Adopted 7/12/90

Short Title:  Drivers Training Program.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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June 5, 1990

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT RELATING TO THE FUNDING AND OPERATION OF THE DRIVERS EDUCATION PROGRAM.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 20-88.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-88.1. Driver training and safety education.
(a)	In accordance with criteria and standards approved by the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall organize and administer a program of driver education to be offered at the public high schools of this State for all physically and mentally qualified persons who (i) are older than 15 years and are approved by the principal of the school, pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of Education, (ii) are enrolled in a public or private high school within the State and (iii) have not previously enrolled in the program.  The State Board of Education shall use for such purpose all funds appropriated to it for said purpose, and may use all other funds that become available for its use for said purpose. The drivers' education program established pursuant to this section shall include instructions on the rights and privileges of the handicapped and the signs and symbols used to assist the handicapped relative to motor vehicles, including the ‘international symbol of accessibility' and other symbols and devices as provided in Article 2A of this Chapter. In addition, this program shall include at least six hours of instruction on the offense of driving while impaired and related subjects.
(b)	The State Board of Education shall adopt a salary schedule for Driver's Education Training Instructors who are public school employees.  The salary schedule shall be a noncertified employees' salary schedule and driver's education training instructors may not be required to be certified in order to be employed.  The highest salary for a driver's education instructor under the schedule shall be no higher than the salary of a public school teacher with an ‘A' certificate who has no years of experience. No educational degree requirement may be a criterion used in setting salaries. 
The salary schedule adopted pursuant to this subsection shall not apply to any driver's education training instructor, who was employed as a driver's education training instructor in a North Carolina public school during the 1989-90 school year or the summer of 1990, until July 1, 1995.
The State Board of Education may also adopt rules to permit local boards of education to enter contracts with public or private entities to provide a program of driver education at its public high schools.
(c)	All expenses incurred by the State in carrying out the provisions of this section up to the amount appropriated in the Current Operations Appropriations Act shall be paid out of the Highway Fund; the State Board of Education may use funds appropriated to the Department of Public Education for aid to local school administrative units if additional funds are required to operate this program."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 115C-215 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C-215. Instruction in driver training and safety education.
There shall be organized and administered under the general supervision of the Superintendent of Public Instruction a program of driver training and safety education in the public schools of this State, said courses to be noncredit courses taught by instructors who meet the requirements established by the State Board of Education."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 115C-216 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C-216. Boards of education required to provide courses in operation of motor vehicles.
	Course of Training and Instruction Required in Public High Schools. – The State Board of Education and local boards of education are required to provide as a part of the program of the public high schools in this State a course of training and instruction in the operation of motor vehicles, pursuant to G.S. 20-88.1.  
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Sec. 4. The State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall report on November 15, 1990, February 15, 1991, May 15, 1991, and August 15, 1991, to the Joint Legislative Highway Oversight Committee, to the Fiscal Research Division, and to the Secretary of Transportation concerning the operation of the program of driver training and safety education.  These reports shall contain statistical information concerning the program including, but not limited to, the number of students enrolled in drivers education, the number of those students who are dropouts, the number of those students who attend private schools, the number and provisions of the contracts signed for drivers education by public or private entities at the public high schools, the number of classroom hours of drivers instruction accomplished during the preceding three months, the number of hours of driving instruction in motor vehicles during the preceding three months, the number of vehicles used in driving instruction during the preceding three months, the number of miles driven during driving instruction during the preceding three months, and the number of students who pass the driver license test administered by the Division of Motor Vehicles, during the preceding three months, the first time that test is administered to those students.
Sec. 5.  This act is effective upon ratification.