HB 106: Safe Teens Act; enact

Georgia law already allows students to earn a half elective credit for completing an outside driver education course, but public schools were not clearly authorized to offer such a course themselves. This bill changes that by letting local boards of education and other public school governing bodies offer their own elective driver education training course, approved by the Department of Driver Services, for one-half unit of high school credit. The bill spells out how schools could pay for the course: local school funds, student fees (with nonpayment not blocking a student from earning credit), or state funds allocated under rules the State Board of Education would write, subject to the General Assembly actually appropriating the money. It also updates related sections on student enrollment counts and existing state grants for driver education so the terminology matches the new 'driver education training course' language throughout the law.

• Authorizes local school boards and other public school governing bodies to offer their own elective driver education training course approved by the Department of Driver Services.
• Allows schools to pay for the course using local funds, student fees, or state funds, and specifies that unpaid fees cannot disqualify a student from earning credit.
• Directs the State Board of Education to write rules for allocating any state funds for the course, contingent on the General Assembly appropriating money for it.
• Updates the existing enrollment-count law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-160) so a driver education training course is not treated as a disqualifying 'enrichment course.'
• Revises the existing state grant program for driver education (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-257) to use the updated 'driver education training course' terminology.
• Removes the outdated requirement that the outside driver education course be completed on or after January 1, 1999 to count for credit.

High school students who want driver education credit, local school boards and other public school governing bodies deciding whether to offer the course, the State Board of Education and Department of Education setting funding rules, and the Department of Driver Services, which approves the courses and licenses instructors.

If schools choose to offer driver education themselves, students could get behind-the-wheel training and elective credit without relying solely on private driving schools. Whether this happens broadly depends on local school district decisions and on the General Assembly actually funding the state contribution.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Safe Teens Act.'
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-151.2 to let local boards offer their own driver education training course and lists three allowed funding sources: local funds, student fees, and state funds subject to appropriation.
• Section 2 also removes the 1999 date restriction on when an outside driver education course must have been completed to count for credit.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-160 so a driver education training course is excluded from the definition of a disqualifying 'enrichment course' during enrollment counts.
• Section 4 amends the existing grant program in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-257, replacing references to 'motor vehicle driver education courses and programs' with 'driver education training courses.'
• Section 5 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-01-28House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-01-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-17House Hopper (House)

• Imani Barnes (D, HD-086)Primary sponsor
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Kimberly Alexander (D, HD-066)
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)
• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)

• driver education
• public schools
• high school electives
• school funding