Code of Massachusetts Regulations
540 CMR - REGISTRY OF MOTOR VEHICLES
Title 540 CMR 23.00 - Licensing, Certification and Operating Requirements for Professional Driving School Instructors; and Others
Section 23.06 - Driver Education Program Requirements
Universal Citation: 540 MA Code of Regs 540.23
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(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.
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