HB 2628 and SB 1040 would have allowed commercial driving schools to administer the written test required before a drivers permit is issued by DPS.  We were successful in the House Transportation Committee with the help of Vice Chairman Larry Phillips and State Representative Nathan Macias of adding language to allow parents who teach their children to drive to do so as well.  The bill was voted out of committee as amended but never made it out of the Calendars Committee for a floor vote.

These bills would allow driving schools to enable their students to avoid the highway sign and traffic law parts of the written test at a Driver License office, by stating that the applicant has already passed the test under the supervision of the driving school. 

Currently HB 2628 is pending in committee. THSC representatives are working with members of the House Transportation Committee to amend this bill to allow parent-taught driver education courses the same opportunity that commercial driving schools would receive.  This would mean that parents could administer the written exam, just as the driving schools could.
 

SB 1040, the senate version of the bill, was presented for testimony in the Senate Transportation & Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, April 18. Senator John Carona was the only senator in committee when testimony was given on SB 1040. Testimony was given by a THSC representative in opposition to the bill, while a representative of the Commercial Driving Schools testified in favor of the measure.  The bill was left pending. We are continuing to work with Senator Carona and other members of the committee to amend the bill as we are with HB 2628.

The Senate Transportation & Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Sen. John Carona, will hear testimony Wednesday, April 18, on SB 1040 by Sen. Eddie Lucio.  This bill would allow driving schools to enable their students to avoid the highway sign and traffic law parts of the written test at a Driver License office by stating that the applicant has already passed the test under the supervision of the driving school.

The current law already allows parents to administer the actual driving test as it does commercial schools.  Obviously, the actual driving test is far more important than the simple two-page written test.  If we can trust parents to administer the most important part of the test, they should be allowed to administer the simpler part. 

According to DPS officials, there is no evidence that parent-taught driver education is not doing a good job.

Please call the members of the Senate Transportation & Homeland Security Committee and ask for an amendment to afford parent-taught driver education students the same opportunity to be administered the test by their instructors (their parents), just as driver school students will be administered the test by their instructors.

The House Transportation Committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Krusee, will hear testimony Tuesday, April 10, on HB 2628 by Rep. Tony Goolsby.  This bill would allow driving schools to enable their students to avoid the highway sign and traffic law parts of the written test at a Driver License office by stating that the applicant has already passed the test under the supervision of the driving school.

The bill discriminates against parent-taught driver education courses by not allowing those students to receive the same treatment.  Parent-taught driver education students currently receive the same waiver for the road test as do students of driving schools.

Please call the members of the House Transportation Committee and ask them to vote against the bill unless it is amended to allow equal treatment for students using parent-taught driver education programs.  Give some of these talking points as reasons for your position.