Teen Drivers: School Attendance, Enrollment and

Academic Performance Anne Teigen

March 25, 2013 Nevada Senate Education Committee

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Non-profit, bi-partisan organization of state legislatures. Members are all 50 state legislatures, 7,400 legislators

and 30,000 legislative staff in 50 states, D.C. and U.S. territories.

Offices in Denver and D.C. Among our goals - To provide legislatures with

information and research about policy issues, both state and federal.

NCSL tracks state policy developments in all public policy areas.

D 2

Linking Teen Driver's Licenses to School

27 States have laws that link teen driver's licenses to school either through enrollment, academic performance, or truancy.

.

D 3

Linking Teen Driver's Licenses to School

15 states require proof of enrollment to obtain a license

D 4

Seven states have academic performance standards

Linking Teen Driver's Licenses to School

MD

AK

HI

WA

OR

CA

ID

NV

MT

WY

UT CO

AZ NM

ND

SD

NE

KS

OK

TX

MN

IA

MO

AR

LA

WI

IL

MI

IN

KY

TN

MS AL GA

FL

OH

WV VA

NC

SC

DE

PA NJ

NY CT

RI

MA

VT NH

ME

D 5

18 states link driver's licenses to habitual school absence (truancy)

Linking Teen Driver's Licenses to School

D 6

Combination of all 3 • Some states require a combination of the three.

D 7

Effectiveness? • "While no pass, no drive policy appears to be a relatively low-

cost lever for improving attendance, little evidence exists to document its effectiveness." -Education Commission of the States report 2011

• Anecdotes • West Virginia • Tennessee • Texas

•“No Pass No Drive: Education and Allocation of Time,” Rashmi Barua and Marian Vidal-Fernandez

D 8

States Considering Measures California introduced a bill in 2008 that would have authorized School

Attendance Review Board to recommend that the DMV suspend the learner's permit or driver's license of a pupil who is less than 18 years of age, and has not attended school for a certain number of consecutive or total days in one semester or has been deemed a habitual truant. (Enrollment and Truancy)

Maine introduced but did not pass a bill in 2012 (ME HB 780) that would

have stated a driver’s license application would not be accepted by the Secretary of State unless documentation was provided attesting to the fact that the minor is not failing more than one class. (Academic Performance)

D 9

States Considering Measures in 2013 In addition to Nevada's SB 269 in 2013-- 4 other

states have introduced bills this year.

Massachusetts HB 3013

Texas HB 3179 (add Attendance)

South Carolina SB 158 (add Attendance)

New York SB 282 (Enrollment +Attendance)

D 10

For more information on teen driving bills you can visit NCSL's Traffic Safety Legislation Database http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/transport/state-traffic-safety-

legislation-database.aspx And Search under "Teen/New Driver Issues"

Resources

D 11

Contact Information/Questions

Anne Teigen, J.D. Transportation and Criminal Justice

National Conference of State Legislatures

Anne.teigen@ncsl.org 303-856-1652

D 12

Thank you

Questions?

D 13