HB5793 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 19230 AXK 43622 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB5793

Introduced , by Rep. Jeanne M Ives

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/27-24.2	from Ch. 122, par. 27-24.2
625 ILCS 5/2-106.5 new
625 ILCS 5/6-107.5

Amends the School Code. Provides that a school district's driver education course shall include instruction on proper procedures following a vehicle stop by a law enforcement officer. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the Secretary of State shall prescribe by rule all driver education course materials used by an adult driver education course and by a driver education course under the Driver Education Act. Makes conforming changes.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning transportation.

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 though 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. The course shall also include instruction on the proper procedures following a vehicle stop by a law enforcement officer, including the driver's rights, the officer's rights, appropriate questioning, required documentation, and any other related information. 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.

Such a course may be commenced immediately after the completion of a prior course. Teachers of such courses shall meet the certification requirements of this Act 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. 96-734, eff. 8-25-09; 97-145, eff. 7-14-11; revised 10-21-15.)

Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Section 6-107.5 and adding Section 2-106.5 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/2-106.5 new)

Sec. 2-106.5. Driver education course materials. The Secretary shall prescribe by rule the content of all driver education course materials used by a driver education course under the Driver Education Act and an adult driver education course under Section 6-107.5 of this Code, and shall include any information the Secretary deems necessary. The materials shall have information concerning the proper procedures following a vehicle stop by a law enforcement officer, including the driver's rights, the officer's rights, appropriate questioning, required documentation, and any other information the Secretary, in consultation with the State Police, deems necessary.

(625 ILCS 5/6-107.5)

Sec. 6-107.5. Adult Driver Education Course.

(a) The Secretary shall establish by rule the curriculum and designate the materials to be used in an adult driver education course. The course shall be at least 6 hours in length and shall include instruction on traffic laws; highway signs, signals, and markings that regulate, warn, or direct traffic; and 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, texting while driving, using wireless communication devices, and alcohol and drug awareness. The course shall also include instruction on the proper procedures following a vehicle stop by a law enforcement officer, including the driver's rights, the officer's rights, appropriate questioning, required documentation, and any other information the Secretary, in consultation with the State Police, deems necessary. The curriculum shall not require the operation of a motor vehicle.

(b) The Secretary shall certify course providers. The requirements to be a certified course provider, the process for applying for certification, and the procedure for decertifying a course provider shall be established by rule.

(b-5) In order to qualify for certification as an adult driver education course provider, each applicant must authorize an investigation that includes a fingerprint-based background check to determine if the applicant has ever been convicted of a criminal offense and, if so, the disposition of any conviction. This authorization shall indicate the scope of the inquiry and the agencies that may be contacted. Upon receiving this authorization, the Secretary of State may request and receive information and assistance from any federal, State, or local governmental agency as part of the authorized investigation. Each applicant shall submit his or her fingerprints to the Department of State Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Department of State Police. These fingerprints shall be checked against fingerprint records now and hereafter filed in the Department of State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record databases. The Department of State Police shall charge applicants a fee for conducting the criminal history record check, which shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the State and national criminal history record check. The Department of State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive identification, records of Illinois criminal convictions to the Secretary and shall forward the national criminal history record information to the Secretary. Applicants shall pay any other fingerprint-related fees. Unless otherwise prohibited by law, the information derived from the investigation, including the source of the information and any conclusions or recommendations derived from the information by the Secretary of State, shall be provided to the applicant upon request to the Secretary of State prior to any final action by the Secretary of State on the application. Any criminal conviction information obtained by the Secretary of State shall be confidential and may not be transmitted outside the Office of the Secretary of State, except as required by this subsection (b-5), and may not be transmitted to anyone within the Office of the Secretary of State except as needed for the purpose of evaluating the applicant. At any administrative hearing held under Section 2-118 of this Code relating to the denial, cancellation, suspension, or revocation of certification of an adult driver education course provider, the Secretary of State may utilize at that hearing any criminal history, criminal conviction, and disposition information obtained under this subsection (b-5). The information obtained from the investigation may be maintained by the Secretary of State or any agency to which the information was transmitted. Only information and standards which bear a reasonable and rational relation to the performance of providing adult driver education shall be used by the Secretary of State. Any employee of the Secretary of State who gives or causes to be given away any confidential information concerning any criminal convictions or disposition of criminal convictions of an applicant shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor unless release of the information is authorized by this Section.

(c) The Secretary may permit a course provider to offer the course online, if the Secretary is satisfied the course provider has established adequate procedures for verifying:

(1) the identity of the person taking the course online; and

(2) the person completes the entire course.

(d) The Secretary shall establish a method of electronic verification of a student's successful completion of the course.

(e) The fee charged by the course provider must bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of the course. The Secretary shall post on the Secretary of State's website a list of approved course providers, the fees charged by the providers, and contact information for each provider.

(f) In addition to any other fee charged by the course provider, the course provider shall collect a fee of $5 from each student to offset the costs incurred by the Secretary in administering this program. The $5 shall be submitted to the Secretary within 14 days of the day on which it was collected. All such fees received by the Secretary shall be deposited in the Secretary of State Driver Services Administration Fund.

(Source: P.A. 98-167, eff. 7-1-14; 98-876, eff. 1-1-15.)