81R9741 JD-F
 
  By: Wentworth 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.  Section 521.142(d), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  If the applicant is under 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 25
  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) A person who has completed and passed 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 is not
  required to:
               (1)  complete a driver education course established
  under Section 1001.101(a)(2), Education Code; or
               (2)  take any part of the examination required under
  Section 521.161(b)(2) that:
                     (A)  is included under the behind-the-wheel
  components of a driver education course; and
                     (B)  has been successfully completed as
  determined by an appropriately licensed or certified driver
  education instructor or by a relative or guardian approved by the
  department under Section 521.205 to conduct a driver education
  course for the person.
         (b)  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.  Sections 521.165(a) and (c), Transportation
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The director may certify and set standards for the
  certification of certain employers, government agencies, public
  schools conducting a driver education and traffic safety program
  under Section 29.902, Education Code, and other appropriate
  organizations, including a driver education school licensed under
  Chapter 1001, Education Code, to allow those persons to train and
  test for the ability to operate certain types of vehicles.
         (c)  In issuing a driver's license for certain types of
  vehicles, the director shall [may] waive a driving test for an
  applicant who has successfully completed and passed the training
  and testing conducted by a person certified under Subsection (a).
         SECTION 5.  Section 521.1655, Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 521.1655.  TESTING BY DRIVER EDUCATION SCHOOL. (a)  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 administer to a
  student of that school the [vision,] highway sign[,] and traffic
  law parts of the examination required by Section 521.161.
         (b)  An examination administered under this section complies
  with the examination requirements of this subchapter as to the
  parts of the examination administered.  The department shall accept
  the passing results of an examination administered under this
  section.
         SECTION 6.  Section 521.204(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department may issue a Class C driver's license to
  an applicant under 18 years of age only if the applicant:
               (1)  is 16 years of age or older;
               (2)  has submitted to the department a driver education
  certificate issued under Chapter 1001, Education Code [Section 9A,
  Texas Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act (Article 4413(29c),
  Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)], that states that the person has
  completed and passed 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 by the Texas Education
  Agency];
               (3)  has obtained a high school diploma or its
  equivalent or is a student:
                     (A)  enrolled in a public school, home school, or
  private school who attended school for at least 90 percent of [80
  days in] the fall or spring semester preceding the date of the
  driver's license application; or
                     (B)  who has been enrolled for at least 45 days,
  and is enrolled as of the date of the application, in a program to
  prepare persons to pass the high school equivalency exam; and
               (4)  has passed the examination required by Section
  521.161.
         SECTION 7.  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 8.  Section 1001.055, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) 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.
         (d)  A licensed or exempt driver education school shall
  electronically submit to the agency in the manner established by
  the agency data identified by the agency relating to driver
  education certificates issued by the school.
         SECTION 9.  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 10.  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 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.