Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) To
become an approved sponsor, an applicant must be an approved sponsor of an
internet accident prevention course, pursuant to Article 12-C of the Vehicle
and Traffic Law, prior to the effective date of Article 12-D of the Vehicle and
Traffic Law, and which delivers such courses to the public.
(b) An applicant must submit a completed
application in a form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner for approval in
accordance with standards set forth in this Part. The application must include
the signature of a person authorized to sign on behalf of the proposed sponsor.
An application will not be considered complete until all information,
materials, and fees required by this Part, Article 12-D of the Vehicle and
Traffic Law, and the Commissioner have been submitted.
(c) To become a sponsor the applicant must
address, as part of its application, among other things, the methodology to be
used by the applicant, the applicant's mastery of use of the internet as a
course delivery method, the applicant's internal controls, and the applicant's
overall ability to successfully deliver the course in a manner consistent with
consumer service and the aims of the internet pre-licensing course.
(d) The sponsor must not disclose or
otherwise make available to any person or entity any personal information, as
defined in Article 12-D of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, obtained by such
provider about any student who registers for such course. The sponsor must also
adhere to the Department's policies regarding the protection and non-disclosure
of students' personal information.
(e) An applicant must demonstrate that the
internet pre-licensing course can validate:
(1) Student identity at registration and
throughout the course;
(2)
Participation throughout the course;
(3) That the time requirements of the course
are met; and
(4) That the student
successfully completed the course.
(f) Applicants may apply to become sponsors
immediately upon the date this Part takes effect. No course will be approved
until the completed application is received, reviewed by the Department, and a
determination to approve the application has been made.
(g) An application to administer the internet
pre-licensing course may be denied if adverse material is uncovered during the
application review process indicating that the sponsor is not of the high moral
and financial character required to operate an internet course.
(h) For an application to be approved by the
Commissioner:
(1) Applicants must establish
that the proposed sponsor owns or has a right to use all aspects of the
internet pre-licensing course that they plan to deliver in New York State (e.g.
if using proprietary biometric technology to validate identity and
participation, sponsor must provide evidence that the sponsor has rights to use
that proprietary technology for this purpose). Once approved, that internet
pre-licensing course may not be delivered in New York State by any other
sponsor.
(2) The course must
provide a minimum of two hundred seventy (270) minutes of instruction. The
instruction must include active learning techniques (i.e. requiring student
participation). The minimum two hundred seventy (270) minutes shall only count
toward time spent instructing the student and shall not count toward time spent
on log-in procedures, administrative tasks, help functions, validation
processes, audio/visual media download times and reading and responding to
content questions.
(3) The course
must include all education components required under section
502 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and any
content required by the Commissioner.
(4) Applicants must provide a detailed
transcript of the course, including all content, sections, logical breaks,
internal controls, proposed audio and video clips (including time duration).
Course topic sequencing may be different from the course curriculum (MV-277)
established by the Department as long as it does not detract from the logical
flow and educational value of the course.
(5) Applicants must provide test questions to
the Commissioner.
(6) The course
must meet all of the technical specifications prescribed by the
Commissioner.
(7) Applicants must
provide information on when validation will occur and what validation methods
they propose to use.
(8) Applicants
must submit no more than one internet pre-licensing course for approval at a
time. If the applicant's primary internet pre-licensing course has been
reviewed and denied, by the Department, the applicant may submit a separate new
application for the revised internet pre-licensing course in accordance with
the standards set forth in this Part.
(9) Sponsors must not display advertising
during any part of the internet pre-licensing course, including the
registration, instruction, testing, validation, or completion periods, nor
shall sponsors display any distracting material that is not related to the
topic being presented.
(10)
Applicants must provide the Department with appropriate access to the course
for the purposes of reviewing the materials and internal controls. Sponsors
must obtain approval of all changes to course material in accordance with the
change control requirements of this Part, prior to implementation by the
sponsor. Once changes are approved, the sponsor must provide a new course
transcript to be used in the monitoring of the course.
(11) Applicants must provide the following:
(i) A non-refundable application fee of seven
thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500.00) must be submitted with each
application in the form of a certified check.
(ii) An initial bond, or a letter of credit,
separate and apart from any bond or letter of credit required under Part 141 of
the Commissioner's Regulations, in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000.00) naming the Department as the beneficiary, which would be paid to
the sponsor in the event of a security or data breach or to the Department in
the event the sponsor ceases doing business in NYS during the pilot period,
and/or to reimburse fees paid by students in cases where the sponsor is unable
to provide the course. Payment of the bond must not be contingent upon
sponsor's approval. Applicants need not provide the bond or letter of credit
with their initial application materials, though this requirement must be
satisfied before the Department will grant final approval to conduct an
internet pre-licensing course. The sponsor must then submit the bond or letter
of credit in order to be finally approved. The Department will notify the
sponsor when course delivery may commence. The sponsors must submit proof of
bond renewal on an annual basis.
(i) Disqualifying application information.
(1) An application will be denied or prior
approval will be suspended or revoked if any manager, owner, operator, officer,
partner, or employee of the sponsor has been convicted of a felony or any other
crime involving fraudulent activity. At the discretion of the Department, after
a review of the felony or any other crime and the factors that lead to any such
conviction, the Department may issue a waiver.
(2) If it is established that any information
provided in the application is fraudulent, the application will be denied, or,
if previously approved, sponsor approval will be revoked. In either case, the
applicant will not be permitted to file an application for ten (10) years from
the date of denial or revocation.
(j) Non-transferability. Sponsor approval to
conduct an internet pre-licensing course is not transferable under any
circumstances. Both the sponsor approval and internet pre-licensing course
approval are tied directly to the sponsor business named on the application
form, including all ownership information. An organization that acquires
another sponsor's course must submit an application and seek approval in
accordance with the standards set forth in this Part.
(k) Change of officers, contact persons,
contact information or address.
(1) Sponsors
must notify the Department in writing within ten (10) days of any change of any
information provided on the original application forms. An amended application
form, with signature, must be submitted with the written notification of
change.
(2) Sponsors must notify
the Department in writing within ten (10) days of any changes in any owners,
operators, managers, partners, officers, directors, or controlling shareholders
of the sponsor.
(3) Failure to
notify the Department of such changes shall be grounds for immediate suspension
of sponsor approval.
(4) Transfer
of ownership will require the new owner(s) to file a new application with the
Department in accordance with the eligibility requirement and approval
standards set forth in this section. The transferred course may not be
delivered until the Commissioner has approved the new application. The prior
owner's internet pre-licensing course approval will be revoked immediately upon
transfer of ownership.
