Course and Provider Approval

Section 8000 Section 8000.20  Course and Provider Approval A Provider that proposes to offer a motor vehicle accident prevention course to the public for liability insurance premium reduction must submit a completed application designating which modality they will use, in-person, virtual, eLearning, or all three, for approval to conduct the course on a form prescribed by the Secretary and receive approval from the Program Administrator before the course can qualify for liability insurance premium reduction. a)         In order to be approved, a motor vehicle accident prevention course must: 1)         have been given for at least two years and research documentation showing evidence of effectiveness must be presented.  However, a course which has not been given for at least two years shall be approved on a probationary basis for two years following a review of the course curriculum and a review of an actual presentation of the course, with research documentation showing evidence of effectiveness to be presented prior to renewal of approval; 2)         provide a minimum of eight hours of in-person classroom instruction or a minimum of four hours of virtual or e-learning instruction.  It is recommended that the entire course not be completed within a single day to allow time for adequate comprehension of traffic safety concepts.  Instruction, at a minimum, must address the following subject areas: A)        the concept of accident preventability including a discussion of the magnitude of traffic accident problems; B)        defensive driving techniques; C)        alcohol, cannabis, and/or any other drug or medication, and aging process as each affects safe driving ability; D)        the risk factors involved in errant driver attitude and behavior such as speeding, reckless driving, improper lane use; and E)        traffic laws in the State of Illinois. 3)         use course materials that present accurate information clearly and logically and clearly define the purpose, goals, and objectives of the program; 4)         incorporate audio-visual aids, such as videos and PowerPoint presentations, when appropriate.  Videos must not exceed an aggregate of one quarter of the total presentation time; 5)         include, either throughout or at the conclusion, a written or online examination , depending on the type of course taken by the student, covering all subject areas addressed in the course presentation; 6)         be able to be subjected to quality control procedures, such as unannounced on-site visits, eLearning monitoring, or virtual monitoring acceptable to the Secretary in order to ensure that the course continues to meet the standards set forth in this Part.  This will involve the periodic review of administrative procedures, documentation of technical or program completions and program monitoring; 7)         provide to the Program Administrator a copy of an instructor's manual, course participant's manual, eLearning or virtual presentation deck, and a description of audio-visual aids utilized in the presentation of the course; 8)         for an e-learning or virtual course, upon request, provide a log-in credential to the Program Administrator; 9)         Provide the course and related program materials using media which allows full access to the course by the deaf and hard of hearing and others requiring accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. 10)        Ensure design of the course is suited for online training for persons with minimal keyboarding skills or computer competencies; 11)        Ensure that the curriculum design: A)        allows the student the ability to review previous completed modules; B)        allows the course to be taken in increments; C)        prohibits students from advancing to the next section or to the end of the course without spending the required time on each topic; and 12)        Have the ability to receive an electronic notification when the student has successfully completed the course prior to the issuance of the certificate of completion. b)         To be approved, a Provider must: 1)         provide an instructor preparation course for in-person or virtual instructors of at least eight hours of classroom instruction to ensure competency in delivering the course; 2)         provide each instructor with an instructor's manual, instructional material (audio-visuals), and provide student workbooks and/or manuals when necessary to follow and participate in the course; 3)         use an instructor or instructors who are approved pursuant to Section 8000.40; 4)         provide names and addresses of all in-person course instructors who will be used by the Provider indicating those instructors have been approved pursuant to Section 8000.40 and provide complete applications on all proposed instructors who have not yet been approved; 5)         provide the address and description of the classroom facility.  Maximum capacity must be indicated.  In-person and virtual classes may not exceed 50 students or the maximum capacity of the accommodation, whichever is less.  In-person classroom facilities should provide adequate space, lighting, ventilation, and freedom from distracting noises.  If a Provider conducts an approved course at more than one location, an address and description of each classroom facility must be filed; 6)         maintain employees or volunteers in the State of Illinois if providing in-person presentations.  Sub-contracting in-person instruction to third parties is not permitted; 7)         establish and maintain a record system compatible with the Secretary's requirements for maintenance of records of certification of course completion and submission of that information to the Program Administrator (see Sec. 8000.100) and ensure that the certificate of completion is issued to the same person who took the course; 8)         designate an individual as representative of the Provider, including postal address, email address, and telephone number, who is responsible for all dealings with the Secretary, Director, and/or Program Administrator in order to provide efficient administration of the course; 9)         provide a postal address, email address, website, and telephone number that may be disseminated to the public; 10)        Establish a help desk that is guaranteed to be accessible for the student during reasonable periods of time daily and shall guarantee the student toll-free access to assistance from a person, provide online responses to inquiries, or assist with technical content of the course; 11)        Provide documentation identifying all validation sources that will be used to ensure that the student is the person actually completing the course; 12)        Establish and maintain a website with a registration portal which must; A)        Display the name of the online course provider organization; B)        Have a secure web server to host the online course; C)        Post the fee for participating in the course; D)        Provide instructions for completing the course; E)        Provide fields for entering the following student information: i)          Full legal name (first, middle, last)(no nicknames may be used; ii)         Illinois Driver's License Number; and iii)        Email address F)         Post the following statements on its course website: i)          "In order to benefit from this course, you must be able to work independently and be comfortable with using a computer"; and ii)         "The online accident prevention course must be completed through an approved Secretary of State accident prevention course provider." iii)        "The accident prevention course is based on best practices in traffic safety and the "Illinois Rules of the Road" and is designed to better prepare drivers with defensive driving tips and techniques.  The course must be successfully completed in its entirety prior to the issuance of a certificate of completion." G)                    Send the Electronic Certificate of Completion to the student using email address provided by the student taking the course and using the following language: Subject Line:  "Online Accident Prevention Course" Message:  "Your electronic certificate of completion is attached which indicates that you have successfully completed an Online Accident Prevention Course that is equivalent to the National Safety Council's 8-hour defensive driving course." c)         Course and Provider approval must be renewed every two years by submitting a completed application for approval to the Program Administrator.