Public Act 101-0183
 
HB2087 EnrolledLRB101 07258 AXK 52297 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 Sections
27-24.1 and 27-24.2 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/27-24.1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 27-24.1)
    Sec. 27-24.1. Definitions. As used in the Driver Education
Act unless the context otherwise requires:
    "State Board" means the State Board of Education;
    "Driver education course" and "course" means a course of
instruction in the use and operation of cars, including
instruction in the safe operation of cars and rules of the road
and the laws of this State relating to motor vehicles, which
meets the minimum requirements of this Act and the rules and
regulations issued thereunder by the State Board and has been
approved by the State Board as meeting such requirements;
    "Car" means a motor vehicle of the first Division as
defined in The Illinois Vehicle Code;
    "Motorcycle" or "motor driven cycle" means such a vehicle
as defined in The Illinois Vehicle Code;
    "Driver's license" means any license or permit issued by
the Secretary of State under Chapter 6 of The Illinois Vehicle
Code.
    "Distance learning program" means a program of study in
which all participating teachers and students do not physically
meet in the classroom and instead use the Internet, email, or
any other method other than the classroom to provide
instruction.
    With reference to persons, the singular number includes the
plural and vice versa, and the masculine gender includes the
feminine.
(Source: P.A. 81-1508.)
 
    (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. 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. A school district's decision to allow a student to
take a portion of the driver education course through a
distance learning program must be determined on a case-by-case
basis and must be approved by the school's administration,
including the student's driver education teacher, and the
student's parent or guardian. Under no circumstances may the
student take the entire driver education course through a
distance learning program. Both the classroom instruction part
and the practice driving part of a 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 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.