Attachment: Application for Modification of the Illinois School Code Mandate

DRIVERS EDUCATION WAIVER

ATTACHMENT:

APPLICATION FOR MODIFICATION OF THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL CODE MANDATE

______Community High School District No. ___

3.Citation or language of the School Code mandate:

“Subject to rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, the district may charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed $50, to students who participate in the course …” (105 ILCS 5/27-23)

Specific modified wording of the mandate, which is the subject of the application.

“Subject to rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, the district may charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed $50not to exceed $150 to students who participate in the course …” (105 ILCS 5/27-23)

4.Narrative identifying and justifying the reason for the modification request:

a.______Community High School District No. ___ is seeking a waiver modification of 105 ILCS 5/27-23 whereby the fee for Driver Education is changed from a “not to exceed $50” to “not to exceed $150.” This request is based on fulfilling the intent of the Driver Education mandate in a more economical and efficient manner for the ______Community High School District No. ___.

1.The intent of 105 ILCS 5/27-23 is to provide a quality program of instruction for students related to the operation of motor vehicles. The School Code requires that “the course of instruction given in grades 10-12 shall include an emphasis on the development of knowledge, attitudes, habits, and skills necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles …” ______Community High School District No. ___ offers a semester-length course in Driver Education. The course is a two-phase program that complies with the intent of the School Code. Students in this course receive a “minimum of thirty (30) clock hours of classroom instruction taught by a certified high school teacher” and “a minimum of six (6) clock hours of behind-the-wheel (BTW) instruction or its equivalent in the car.”

2.______Community High School District No. ___ will meet the intent of the School Code by continuing a quality driver education program. However, it proposes to offer this program in a more efficient and economical manner by increasing the driver education registration fee “not to exceed” $150. Per the School Code, students whose families are unable to pay shall have this fee waived as determined on a case-by-case basis.

3.The current $50 driver education fee does not effectively offset the high costs associated with the ______Community High School District No. ___ Driver Education program. There is a vast inequity between the amount collected in current ($50) Driver Education fees in comparison to the overall cost of the Driver Education program. Based on 2003-04 data (as of June 26, 2004), the total cost of the Driver Education program was $46,962.54 with revenues collected from state driver education aid and current fees totaling $28,525,45, with a one-year deficit of $18,437.09. If the student driver education fee were raised to $150, we project that it will generate additional revenue of approximately $14,000. This increase of revenue, coupled with a projected reduction of expenditures in FY 05 (with no driver education vehicle purchase needs projected in FY 05), would close the revenue – expenditure gap to approximately ($3,359).

Given the current fiscal situation of the District (which is on the Financial Watch List), the Board seeks to operate its Driver Education program at a closer to break-even cost to the District. The Board also feels that a $150 fee – when compared with the $370 fee charged at a local private driving instructional business – is a reasonable increase.