Bill Text: TX SB1624 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
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
86R12587 SOS-F | ||
By: Zaffirini | S.B. No. 1624 |
|
||
|
||
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 [ |
||
|
||
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 [ |
||
|
||
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 [ |
||
accompanied by [ |
||
[ |
||
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; [ |
||
(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. |