1. Approved course. An approved driver education course as programmed by the department of education shall consist of at least thirty clock hours of classroom instruction, of which no more than one hundred eighty minutes shall be provided to a student in a single day, and six or more clock hours of laboratory instruction of which at least three clock hours shall consist of street or highway driving. Classroom instruction shall include all of the following:
a. A minimum of four hours of instruction concerning substance abuse.
b. A minimum of twenty minutes of instruction concerning railroad crossing safety.
c. Instruction relating to becoming an organ donor under the uniform anatomical gift Act.
To be qualified as a classroom driver education instructor, a person shall have satisfied the educational requirements for a teaching license at the elementary or secondary level and hold a valid license to teach driver education in the public schools of this state.
Every public school district in Iowa shall offer or make available to all students residing in the school district or Iowa students attending a nonpublic school in the district an approved course in driver education. The courses may be offered at sites other than at the public school, including nonpublic school facilities within the public school districts. An approved course offered during the summer months, on Saturdays, after regular school hours during the regular terms or partly in one term or summer vacation period and partly in the succeeding term or summer vacation period, as the case may be, shall satisfy the requirements of this section to the same extent as an approved course offered during the regular school hours of the school term. A student who successfully completes and obtains certification in an approved course in driver education or an approved course in motorcycle education may, upon proof of such fact, be excused from any field test which the student would otherwise be required to take in demonstrating the student's ability to operate a motor vehicle. A student shall not be excused from any field test if a parent, guardian, or instructor requests that a test be administered. Street or highway driving instruction may be provided by a person qualified as a classroom driver education instructor or a person certified by the department of transportation and authorized by the board of educational examiners. A person shall not be required to hold a current Iowa teacher or administrator license at the elementary or secondary level or to have satisfied the educational requirements for an Iowa teacher license at the elementary or secondary level in order to be certified by the department of transportation or authorized by the board of educational examiners to provide street or highway driving instruction. A final field test prior to a student's completion of an approved course shall be administered by a person qualified as a classroom driver education instructor. The department of transportation shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to provide for certification of persons qualified to provide street or highway driving instruction. The board of educational examiners shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to provide for authorization of persons certified by the department of transportation to provide street or highway driving instruction.
"Student", for purposes of this section, means a person between the ages of fourteen years and twenty-one years who resides in the public school district and who satisfies the preliminary licensing requirements of the department of transportation.
Any person who successfully completes an approved driver education course at a private or commercial driver education school licensed by the department of transportation, shall likewise be eligible for a driver's license as provided in section 321.180B or 321.194.
2. Restricted license.
a. A person between sixteen and eighteen years of age who is not in attendance at school or who is in attendance in a public or private school where an approved driver's education course is not offered or available, may be issued a restricted license only for travel to and from work or to transport dependents to and from temporary care facilities, if necessary for the person to maintain the person's present employment, without having completed an approved driver's education course. The restricted license shall be issued by the department only upon confirmation of the person's employment and need for a restricted license to travel to and from work or to transport dependents to and from temporary care facilities if necessary to maintain the person's employment and upon receipt of a written statement from the public or private school that an approved course in driver's education was not offered or available to the person, if applicable. The employer shall notify the department if the employment of the person is terminated before the person attains the age of eighteen. The person shall not have a restricted license revoked or suspended upon reentering school prior to age eighteen if the student enrolls in and completes the classroom portion of an approved driver's education course as soon as a course is available.
b. The department may suspend a restricted license issued under this section upon receiving a record of the person's conviction for one violation and shall revoke the license upon receiving a record of conviction for two or more violations of a law of this state or a city ordinance regulating the operation of motor vehicles on highways, other than parking violations as defined in section 321.210. After revoking a license under this section the department shall not grant an application for a new license or permit until the expiration of one year or until the person attains the age of eighteen whichever is the longer period.
3. Driver's license reciprocity.
a. The department may issue a class C or M driver's license to a person who is sixteen or seventeen years of age and who is a current resident of the state, but who has been driving as a resident of another state for at least one year prior to residency within the state.
b. The following criteria must be met prior to issuance of a driver's license pursuant to this subsection:
(1) The minor must reside with a parent or guardian.
(2) The minor must have driven under a valid driver's license for at least one year in the prior state of residence. Six months of the one year computation may include driving with an instruction permit.
(3) The minor must have had no moving traffic violations on the minor's driving record.
(4) The minor must pass the written and driving skills tests as required by the department, but is not required to have taken a driver's education class.
[C66, § 321.177; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 321.178; 82 Acts, ch 1215, § 1, 2, ch 1248, § 1]
84 Acts, ch 1022, § 3; 86 Acts, ch 1220, § 28; 89 Acts, ch 266, § 1; 90 Acts, ch 1230, § 25; 91 Acts, ch 128, § 1, 2; 92 Acts, ch 1163, § 75; 92 Acts, ch 1231, § 44; 94 Acts, ch 1102, §1; 98 Acts, ch 1112, §2, 14, 16; 99 Acts, ch 13, §11; 2000 Acts, ch 1133, §3; 2001 Acts, ch 33, §1
Referred to in §321.177, 321.180B, 321.191
Driver education courses to include instruction relating to energy efficiency and safety; 90 Acts, ch 1252, § 54
Department of public health to cooperate to provide materials and information relating to becoming an organ donor; 94 Acts, ch 1102, §3
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