By: Wentworth, Lucio 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.  Subsection (d), Section 521.142, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (d)  If the applicant is under 21 [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 21
  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 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.  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 5.  Subsection (a), Section 1001.055, Education
  Code, is amended 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.
         SECTION 6.  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 7.  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 8.  This Act takes effect March 1, 2010.