SB1642eng 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1642 Engrossed LRB101 10198 AXK 55302 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 27-24.2 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/27-24.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-24.2)

Sec. 27-24.2. Safety education; driver education course. Instruction shall be given in safety education in each of grades one through 8, equivalent to one class period each week, and any school district which maintains grades 9 through 12 shall offer a driver education course in any such school which it operates. Its curriculum shall include content dealing with Chapters 11, 12, 13, 15, and 16 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, the rules adopted pursuant to those Chapters insofar as they pertain to the operation of motor vehicles, and the portions of the Litter Control Act relating to the operation of motor vehicles. The course of instruction given in grades 10 through 12 shall include an emphasis on the development of knowledge, attitudes, habits, and skills necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles, including motorcycles insofar as they can be taught in the classroom, and instruction on distracted driving as a major traffic safety issue. In addition, the course shall include instruction on special hazards existing at and required safety and driving precautions that must be observed at emergency situations, highway construction and maintenance zones, and railroad crossings and the approaches thereto. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the course shall also include instruction concerning law enforcement procedures for traffic stops, including a demonstration of the proper actions to be taken during a traffic stop and appropriate interactions with law enforcement. Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, the course shall also include instruction on bicycle and pedestrian safety, which must include, but is not limited to, instruction on how to safely pass a cyclist on the road, special considerations while driving in urban areas and near bicycle lanes, how to navigate an intersection with pedestrians and cyclists, exiting a vehicle without endangering pedestrians and cyclists, and the requirement that drivers exercise due care to avoid collision with a bicyclist or pedestrian on the road. The course of instruction required of each eligible student at the high school level shall consist of a minimum of 30 clock hours of classroom instruction and a minimum of 6 clock hours of individual behind-the-wheel instruction in a dual control car on public roadways taught by a driver education instructor endorsed by the State Board of Education. Both the classroom instruction part and the practice driving part of such driver education course shall be open to a resident or non-resident student attending a non-public school in the district wherein the course is offered. Each student attending any public or non-public high school in the district must receive a passing grade in at least 8 courses during the previous 2 semesters prior to enrolling in a driver education course, or the student shall not be permitted to enroll in the course; provided that the local superintendent of schools (with respect to a student attending a public high school in the district) or chief school administrator (with respect to a student attending a non-public high school in the district) may waive the requirement if the superintendent or chief school administrator, as the case may be, deems it to be in the best interest of the student. A student may be allowed to commence the classroom instruction part of such driver education course prior to reaching age 15 if such student then will be eligible to complete the entire course within 12 months after being allowed to commence such classroom instruction.

A school district may offer a driver education course in a school by contracting with a commercial driver training school to provide both the classroom instruction part and the practice driving part or either one without having to request a modification or waiver of administrative rules of the State Board of Education if the school district approves the action during a public hearing on whether to enter into a contract with a commercial driver training school. The public hearing shall be held at a regular or special school board meeting prior to entering into such a contract. If a school district chooses to approve a contract with a commercial driver training school, then the district must provide evidence to the State Board of Education that the commercial driver training school with which it will contract holds a license issued by the Secretary of State under Article IV of Chapter 6 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and that each instructor employed by the commercial driver training school to provide instruction to students served by the school district holds a valid teaching license issued under the requirements of this Code and rules of the State Board of Education. Such evidence must include, but need not be limited to, a list of each instructor assigned to teach students served by the school district, which list shall include the instructor's name, personal identification number as required by the State Board of Education, birth date, and driver's license number. Once the contract is entered into, the school district shall notify the State Board of Education of any changes in the personnel providing instruction either (i) within 15 calendar days after an instructor leaves the program or (ii) before a new instructor is hired. Such notification shall include the instructor's name, personal identification number as required by the State Board of Education, birth date, and driver's license number. If the school district maintains an Internet website, then the district shall post a copy of the final contract between the district and the commercial driver training school on the district's Internet website. If no Internet website exists, then the school district shall make available the contract upon request. A record of all materials in relation to the contract must be maintained by the school district and made available to parents and guardians upon request. The instructor's date of birth and driver's license number and any other personally identifying information as deemed by the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 must be redacted from any public materials.

Such a course may be commenced immediately after the completion of a prior course. Teachers of such courses shall meet the licensure requirements of this Code and regulations of the State Board as to qualifications.

Subject to rules of the State Board of Education, the school district may charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed $50, to students who participate in the course, unless a student is unable to pay for such a course, in which event the fee for such a student must be waived. However, the district may increase this fee to an amount not to exceed $250 by school board resolution following a public hearing on the increase, which increased fee must be waived for students who participate in the course and are unable to pay for the course. The total amount from driver education fees and reimbursement from the State for driver education must not exceed the total cost of the driver education program in any year and must be deposited into the school district's driver education fund as a separate line item budget entry. All moneys deposited into the school district's driver education fund must be used solely for the funding of a high school driver education program approved by the State Board of Education that uses driver education instructors endorsed by the State Board of Education.

(Source: P.A. 99-642, eff. 7-28-16; 99-720, eff. 1-1-17; 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)

Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Section 2-112 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/2-112) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 2-112)

Sec. 2-112. Distribution of synopsis laws.

(a) The Secretary of State may publish a synopsis or summary of the laws of this State regulating the operation of vehicles and may deliver a copy thereof without charge with each original vehicle registration and with each original driver's license.

(b) The Secretary of State shall make any necessary revisions in its publications including, but not limited to, the Illinois Rules of the Road, to accurately conform its publications to the provisions of the Pedestrians with Disabilities Safety Act.

(c) The Secretary of State shall include, in the Illinois Rules of the Road publication, information advising drivers to use the Dutch Reach method when opening a vehicle door after parallel parking on a street (checking the rear-view mirror, checking the side-view mirror, then opening the door with the right hand, thereby reducing the risk of injuring a bicyclist or opening the door in the path a vehicle approaching from behind).

(d) For the purpose of educating prospective licensees on the potential dangers caused by motor vehicles to pedestrians, bicyclists, in-line skaters, scooter riders, skateboarders, and other non-motorized vehicles, the Secretary of State shall include, in the Illinois Rules of the Road publication, information on bicycle and pedestrian safety, which must include, but is not limited to, instruction on how to safely pass a cyclist on the road, special considerations while driving in urban areas and near bicycle lanes, how to navigate an intersection with pedestrians and cyclists, exiting a vehicle without endangering pedestrians and cyclists, and the requirement that drivers exercise due care to avoid collision with a bicyclist or pedestrian on the road.

(Source: P.A. 100-770, eff. 1-1-19; 100-962, eff. 1-1-19.)