3 days ago
Lawmakers face decision on virtual driver ed classes
BOSTON — Extending a policy that enables driver education classes to be taken virtually would put teens and road safety at risk, a Webster driver's teacher told lawmakers on Tuesday, July 8.
Jason Danielson, co-owner of Alert Driving Academy in Webster and a Marlborough Public Schools teacher of nearly three decades, said a pair of bills before a legislative committee would find support only by those who "stand to profit most," not by those who care about what is "best for students and student safety."
The Sen. Joan Lovely and Rep. Carole Fiola bills (H 3661, S 2411) authorize the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to "approve an online driver education curriculum, provided that the driving school has a physical presence in the commonwealth, has operated for at least three years, and is in good standing with the RMV," according to a Senate bill summary.
Lovely said the bill would extend a pandemic-era online classroom driver education option that is set to expire in September. Lovely, along with representatives from AAA, argued that the average scores of students who participated in online driver education were nearly the same as those who took classes in-person.
Junior Operator License requirements for those between 16 ½ and 18 include the successful completion of a driver education program, which includes 30 hours of classroom instruction, 12 hours of behind-the-wheel training and six hours of in-car observation of other student drivers.
The proposal is not a replacement for traditional classroom offerings, but "an alternative for busy students and families," according to AAA Northeast Senior Manager of Government Affairs Christina Hayman.
"Providing students with an option to take driver's ed virtually is an important step in ensuring equal access for all learners," Hayman said Tuesday before the Joint Committee on Transportation.
"When we think about equity for students, we're talking about students who may not have a parent or caregiver who can drive into a class in the evening or on a weekend. We're talking about a student who may learn better, free from classroom distractions. We're thinking about students who live in rural areas that may be prohibited from driving a long drive to an in-person classroom," Hayman said. "Accessing a driver ed class online may be the best and only option for students."
Danielson argued that the proposal would "further open doors" to larger schools that came into the state with multiple locations, potentially disadvantaging smaller schools that are paying rent, paying annual fees to the state and whose students spend money in the local communities.
Danielson added that teaching students virtually often makes it difficult to gauge whether students are paying attention to instruction that is crucial to keeping the roads, and teen drivers, safe.
"Teaching students, whether it's in Marlborough Public Schools or the driving school, it's difficult at times to keep students off of their electronic devices. When I see it in person, it is easy to redirect those students," Danielson said. "Teaching virtually, I would have no idea if somebody was playing Call of Duty on a screen behind the laptop they're sitting at, supposedly paying attention to this content.
"At the end of the day, the junior operator licensing law was passed to protect the lives of young drivers," Danielson continued. "Not to make it easier for schools to deliver content."
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: State lawmakers face decision on virtual driver ed classes
