Driver Education Program Requirements

(1) Professional Driving School and Public School Driver Education Program. (a) Principal Administrator. All applicants shall submit evidence of compliance with the provision of M.G.L. c. 90, § 32G requiring a business principal to have held a driving instructor’s certificate for at least a continuous two year period. (b) Student Eligibility Standards. An individual may enroll in a Professional Driving School or Public School Driver Education Program who has attained the age of 15 years, nine months. Individuals must possess a valid learner’s permit in order to participate in the on-road portion of driver’s education. (c) Driver Education Program. Effective September 1, 2007, the Driver Education Program as established by the Registrar pursuant to the provisions of M.G.L. c. 90, § 32G and 540 CMR 23.00, shall be used by each licensed driving school, private and public, which offers driver education classes to persons who intend to obtain a driver’s education certificate issued by the Registrar. The Driver Education Program comprises the driver education curriculum, driver practicum curriculum, the parent curriculum and a final examination. A current version of the Driver Education Program will be maintained on file for public viewing at the main office of the Registry of Motor Vehicles and on the Registry’s website. 1. Driver Education Curriculum. The driver education curriculum consists of 15 modules taught within 30 hours of classroom instruction. All topics outlined in the curriculum must be covered. A school may submit their curriculum for the Registrar’s approval if they wish to teach the curriculum in a different order then outlined in the Driver Education Program developed by the Registry of Motor Vehicles. A licensed driving school may supplement the curriculum if approved by the Registrar. 2. Driver Practicum Curriculum. a. On-road instruction includes 12 hours of behind the wheel instruction and six hours of observation, for a total of 18 hours. All skills listed on the driver practicum curriculum must be covered within the 12 hours of behind the wheel instruction. b. No student shall exceed two hours of on-road instruction in a single day. 3. Parent Curriculum. A driving school must provide an in-class opportunity for parents of enrolled driver education students to learn about the Junior Operator’s Law and the driving skills and behaviors that their children will be learning. The parent curriculum must be designed to help parents understand the law and prepare them for the parentally supervised driving experience that parents are required to certify when their child applies for a road test. The driving school may schedule this as a separate class for parents only or may include parents in a student class if that class will cover the material required for the parent curriculum. A parent must attend at least two hours of classroom instruction. 4. Final Examination. Prior to the issuance of a driver education certificate a student must take and pass a final examination to test the student’s comprehension of the subjects covered in the Driver Education Program. Except as otherwise required by the Registrar, it is the responsibility of the driving school to administer a final examination. The Registrar may determine the time, place, and material to be tested, and manner for which the examination is conducted. The Registrar may establish exam standards and/or set a minimum passing grade for such examination and may refuse to issue a driver education certificate until satisfied that the student meets the minimum standards and has completed the behind the wheel portion of the driver practicum curriculum. The Registrar may require the driving school to demonstrate its process for evaluating student performance and improving its instruction. 5. Notification of Course Completion. The Professional Driving School and Public School Driver Education Program shall notify the Registrar, in a manner to be determined by her, of a student’s successful completion of the Driver Education Program. (2) Driver Skills Development Program. (a) Student Eligibility Standards. Individuals who possess a valid driver’s license, or a valid learner’s permit and have completed ten hours of supervised behind the wheel training, may be enrolled in a Driver Skills Development Program in the Commonwealth. A program licensed under 540 CMR 23.06(2)(a) may accept, at its discretion, a student driver who is a resident of a state that does not issue a learner’s permit document if the program’s Principal Administrator is satisfied that the student is legally qualified to operate as a student driver on the roadways of the state where he or she is a resident. Instruction in a Driver Skills Development Program shall not be provided to a person under the age of 18 unless the person’s parent or guardian has provided informed written consent to the program’s Principal Administrator. (b) Driver Skills Development Program Curriculum. The driving skills or techniques taught in the Driver Skills Development Program must meet the minimum standards for course content as established by the Registrar. (c) Issuance of Certificate of Completion. Driver Skills Development Programs shall issue a certificate of completion to each student who successfully completes the program of in- vehicle instruction and the school shall make available such information in the form specified by the Registrar or by the Commissioner of Insurance of the Commonwealth or a person of like authority in another state in the event an insurance discount or other benefit is available to students who complete the program. A Driver Skills Development Program may refuse to issue such certificate of completion if the student was incapable of adequately performing or demonstrating the skills taught in the program.