Driver’s Education/Driver’s Training
Frequently Asked Questions

The DMV has been very cooperative with those of us operating private schools, using the directions below.

1. Are parents allowed to teach Driver’s Education and Driver’s Training to their children? This answer is complicated and has several parts. Please don’t jump to conclusions by just reading the first part of the answer. Q’s.1 & 2 need to be read together.

a. NO: There is no provision in the motor vehicle law of the State of California that allows a parent to teach their children either DE or DT.
b. There are three entities that are allowed to teach DE/DT in the State of California. They are as follows:

i. A public school; a public school must offer DE and may offer DT. Most public schools do not offer DT.
ii. A private secondary school; any private secondary school MAY offer both DE/DT but are not required to do so.
iii. A for profit business registered with the DMV to teach DE/DT to students. This could be a brick and mortar school or a virtual school.

2. How then, am I going to train my child to drive?

a. California statutes allow for private secondary schools to offer both DE and DT to their students. If you have filed a private school affidavit with the State of California Department of Education, with numbers listed in the 9th -12th grade levels, then you operate a private secondary school. This private school, that you operate, may offer DE/DT to its students. Technically, home schooling parents are not allowed to teach DE/DT, but private school teachers are allowed to do so.
b. If you are a part of a private PSP, then you need to ask them if they offer DE/DT to their students. If they do not, then you will need to either wait until your child is 17 ½ for them to get a permit, or take them to a for-profit school, or file your own PSA.
c. If you are part of a public ISP or charter, then they are required to offer DE, but probably won’t offer any DT. It is too costly.

NOTE: If you go to the DMV website, you will find that they state that home school parents cannot teach their children to drive. If you file a PSA, then you are a private school, and therefore you have the right to teach your students (who happen to be your children) these classes.

3. How does my private school offer DE/DT?

You must comply with the laws governing the teaching of the classes that are specified by the Department of Motor Vehicles. You must register with them to obtain the appropriate paperwork necessary to teach these classes. The DMV will not “grant” you permission to teach; they will simply verify that your school is in compliance with the state education code (proven by submitting a copy of your PSA). They will govern the issuance of registered forms from their office. There are several forms that are registered (complete with bar codes and individual registration numbers) that are required for a student to obtain a permit and license through the state of California. These forms are issued by the dmv to schools who teach DE/DT. They are closely monitored, and it is the responsibility of the school to control these forms and keep them free from the possibility of theft or damage. Failure to do so will result in restrictions by the DMV, and will hinder your ability to offer DE/DT to your students.

4. What course work is required by the Department of Motor Vehicles for Driver’s Education (DE)?

a. Typically the DMV requires thirty hours of classroom instruction for the completion of Driver’s Education. You must certify to the DMV that your school covers the topics that they require. You must teach, but are not limited to, the following topics;

i. Driving responsibilities
ii . Human physical and psychological issues; vision, hearing, etc.
iii . Effect of natural forces on your vehicle
iv . Signs, signals and road markings
v. Licensing and registration and vehicle code
vi. Vehicle systems
vii. Rules of the road
viii. Sharing the road
ix. Accidents; causes and prevention
x. Alcohol and drugs

Note: Some public schools teach a 75 hour, one semester course that includes health. This allows them to cover the drug and alcohol abuse issue in one sequence. You will often see the class combined, as a matter of convenience, since both subjects can usually be covered in a quarter of school work each, and this makes class scheduling easy for the school. You will not need to do this as a private school.

5. What course work is required by the Department of Motor Vehicles for Driver’s Training?

a. A DT course is to include six hours of behind the wheel instruction that will take the student on the road and teach them the proper techniques of driving and safety. Generally, for convenience’s sake, the class is taken in three two-hour increments. A student must pass the written exam at the DMV before they may take DT. The DMV will issue a learner’s permit to the student once the exam is passed. The learner’s permit is not valid until a student completes at least two hours of DT with their instructor. During the time that the student holds a learner’s permit, they must complete the remaining four hours of driver’s training with their instructor.

6. As a parent, how do I supervise their driving?

a. Once a student has a valid (passed exam and two hours with the instructor) learner’s permit, the student is allowed to drive with any licensed driver over the age of twenty-five. The student will be required to complete fifty hours of behind the wheel practice (ten of which, must be at night), within a six to twelve month period, before they can get a provisional license. So the minimum amount of hours behind the wheel must total fifty-six (six hours of instruction, fifty hours of practice) before they can go to the DMV and take their behind-the-wheel exam to get their provisional license.

7. What is a Provisional License?

a. DMV issues a provisional license to all drivers under the age of eighteen. These licenses are restricted and more closely controlled by the DMV. They can be revoked instantly by the parent ~ for no reason, and by the school, or any law enforcement agency for certain violations of law. These violations do not need to relate to driving, they can be a simple violation such as truancy or graffiti. Some restrictions are placed on a license until a driver is twenty-one, but are generally not restrictive, except in the case of alcohol consumption.

8. How old does a student need to be in order to take a DE/DT course.

a. There are no age restriction listed by the DMV for a child to enroll in a DE course. Practically, most public schools teach DE to their freshman students. So, typically a student is somewhere between the age of fourteen to fifteen when they take DE. A child may be anywhere up to the age of 17 ½ to take it. After 17 ½ years of age, a child may go to the DMV and obtain a learner’s permit without having completed the class. They will have to drive on it for six months before they can obtain a license. Any person over the age of eighteen may obtain a license without proving that they have taken any type of classroom education or practicing on a permit for six months.
b. Implied by law, a student must be 15 ½ years of age to take DT. They cannot obtain a learner’s permit until that age, and they cannot take DT until they have obtained a learner’s permit.

9. What paperwork does my private school need to complete in order to obtain the necessary documents to teach DE/DT.

a. There are three forms currently required by the DMV to teach DE/DT. There are also two other pieces of information that are needed.

i. DL396 ~ Authorization/Requisition for Driver Instruction Forms
ii. DL396A ~ Driver Education Supply Request
iii. DL396B ~ Private Secondary Non-Classroom Driver Education Curriculum Certification
iv. The school must also submit a copy of their PSA.
v. Also, in order to comply with some of the questions asked on Form DL396, a cover letter is necessary that explains the omission of certain pieces of information requested by the DMV. Form DL396 is used by both private and public schools. Some of the information requested is only required by public and for profit entities. Private schools are prevented by law from giving certain pieces of information asked for on the form. This needs to be noted in your cover letter.

10. How often does the paperwork need to be filed?

a. You will complete the paperwork each year, after you have completed your PSA, usually in October. If you have no students enrolled in DE/DT, then you request no paperwork and file an informational filing only. When you have taught your last student, then you cancel your registration with the DMV. It is important to file each year, so that you stay in the system. Filing only takes a few minutes, and once you have completed your original paperwork you will be able to fax all information needed to the DMV.

Many thanks to Cindae Hull for her patience and help with getting this information together for us!

Cindae's note:
These answers reflect current law as of November, 2007. Laws are subject to change at any time, and I make mistakes and could be wrong about interpretation. Please do not rely on these answers as gospel. Please verify them with the DMV. I have done my best to verify the laws, and have tried to word this carefully so as not to confuse anyone. It is my hope that I will be a help to those who operate private schools, and not confuse them more.