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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 21, 2020 09:26 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Christopher B. Quinn |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Private Driver Education |
In the near future, I plan on introducing legislation that would modernize how the Commonwealth licenses and regulates private driver education schools. Currently, private driver education schools are subject to the outdated provisions outlined in the Private Driver Education or Training School Act from 1952. As a result of the outdated laws, many private driver education schools across the state are struggling to hire or retain qualified and knowledgeable driver instructors to teach our future drivers how to lawfully drive on our roads. To illustrate just some of the inadequacies within the outdated law, to become a licensed private driver instructor within the Commonwealth, the process for an applicant to become licensed through the Department of Education can take months at a time because the law was written and has not been changed since 1952 to reflect the inevitable changes in society and technology. For instance, a private driver education instructor applicant must travel to only one approved location within Harrisburg to take a 100-question multiple choice test that takes less than 90 minutes. While on the other hand, their potential students can do a driver’s educations course online. In addition, as a result of the obsolete law, there are currently certified PennDOT third-party license instructors who can pass or fail a future driver at the time of a driving test, but due to arcane laws, those same individuals are unable to teach how to lawfully drive on the road leading up to that test. My legislation would remedy these outdated provisions by repealing the Private Driver Education or Training School Act from 1952 and create a new curriculum developed by PennDOT to license private driver educational schools within the Vehicle Code. I hope you join me in sponsoring my upcoming legislation. |
Introduced as HB2269