| (a) This section contains requirements for specialized
driving safety courses, instructor development courses, and continuing
education. For each course, the following curriculum documents and
materials are required to be submitted as part of the application
for approval. Except as provided by §84.504 (relating to Driving
Safety Course Alternative Delivery Method), all course content shall
be delivered under the direct observation of a specialized driving
safety licensed instructor. Courses of instruction shall not be approved
that contain language that a reasonable and prudent individual would
consider inappropriate. Any changes and updates to a course shall
be submitted and approved prior to being offered. Approval will be
revoked for any course that meets the definition of inactive course
as defined in §84.2(14).
(1) Specialized driving safety courses.
(A) Educational objectives. The educational objectives
of specialized driving safety courses shall include, but not be limited
to information relating to human trafficking prevention in accordance
with the provisions of the Julia Wells Act (Senate Bill 1831, Section
3, 87th Regular Legislature (2021)); improving the student's knowledge
and use of, compliance with, and attitude toward the use of child
passenger safety seat systems and the wearing of seat belt and other
occupant restraint systems; safe operation of a motor vehicle near
oversize or overweight vehicles; the passing of certain vehicles as
described in Transportation Code §545.157; the dangers and consequences
of street racing; and educating the student on the proper law enforcement
procedures for traffic stops in accordance with the provisions of
the Community Safety Education Act (Senate Bill 30, 85th Regular Legislature
(2017)).
(B) Specialized driving safety course content guides.
A course content guide is a description of the content of the course
and the techniques of instruction that will be used to present the
course. For courses offered in languages other than English, the course
owner shall provide a written declaration affirming that the translation
of the course materials is true and correct in the proposed language
presented. Such materials are subject to the approval of the department
prior to its use in a specialized driver safety course. To be approved,
each course owner shall submit as part of the application a course
content guide that includes the following:
(i) a statement of the course's goal and philosophy
relative to occupant protection;
(ii) a statement of policies and administrative provisions
related to instructor conduct, standards, and performance;
(iii) a statement of policies and administrative provisions
related to student progress, attendance, makeup, and conduct. The
policies and administrative provisions shall be used by each school
that offers the course and include the following requirements:
(I) progress standards that meet the requirements of
subparagraph (F);
(II) appropriate standards to ascertain the attendance
of students. All schools approved to use the course must use the same
standards for documenting attendance to include the hours scheduled
each day and each hour not attended;
(III) appropriate criteria to determine course completion.
If the student does not complete the entire course, including all
makeup lessons, within the timeline specified by the court, no credit
for instruction shall be granted;
(IV) provisions for the completion of makeup work.
Any period of absence for any portion of instruction will require
that the student complete that portion of instruction. All makeup
lessons must be equivalent in length and content to the instruction
missed and taught by a licensed instructor; and
(V) conditions for dismissal and conditions for re-entry
of those students dismissed for violating the conduct policy;
(iv) a statement of policy addressing entrance requirements
and special conditions of students such as the inability to read,
language barriers, and other disabilities;
(v) a list of relevant instructional resources such
as textbooks, audio and visual media and other instructional materials,
and equipment that will be used in the course and the furniture deemed
necessary to accommodate the students in the course such as tables,
chairs, and other furnishings. The course shall include a minimum
of 60 minutes of audio/video materials relevant to the required topics;
however, the audio/video materials shall not be used in excess of
150 minutes of the 300 minutes of instruction. The resources may be
included in a single list or may appear at the end of each instructional
unit;
(vi) written or printed materials provided for use
by each student as a guide to the course. The division may make exceptions
to this requirement on an individual basis;
(vii) instructional activities to be used to present
the material (lecture, films, other media, small-group discussions,
workbook activities, written and oral discussion questions, etc.).
When small-group discussions are planned, the course content guide
shall identify the questions that will be assigned to the groups;
(viii) instructional resources for each unit;
(ix) techniques for evaluating the comprehension level
of the students relative to the instructional unit. If oral or written
questions are to be used to measure student comprehension levels,
they shall be included in the course guide. The evaluative technique
may be used throughout the unit or at the end; and
(x) a completed form cross-referencing the instructional
units to the topics identified in Chapter Four, Topics Two through
Nine of the COI-Specialized Driving Safety. A form to cross-reference
the instructional units to the required topics and topics unique to
the course will be provided by the department.
(C) Course and time management. Approved specialized
driving safety courses shall be presented in compliance with the following
guidelines and shall include statistical information drawn from data
maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation or National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration.
(i) A minimum of 300 minutes of instruction is required
of which at least 200 minutes shall address the use of child passenger
safety seat systems and the wearing of seat belt and other occupant
restraint systems.
(ii) The total length of the course shall consist of
a minimum of 360 minutes.
(iii) Sixty minutes of time, exclusive of the 300 minutes
of instruction, shall be dedicated to break periods or to the topics
included in the minimum course content. All break periods shall be
provided after instruction has begun and before the comprehensive
examination and summation.
(iv) Administrative procedures such as enrollment shall
not be included in the 300 minutes of the course.
(v) Courses conducted in a single day in a traditional
classroom setting shall allow a minimum of 30 minutes for lunch.
(vi) Courses taught over a period longer than one day
shall provide breaks on a schedule equitable to those prescribed for
one-day courses. However, all breaks shall be provided after the course
introduction and prior to the last unit of the instructional day or
the comprehensive examination and summation, whichever is appropriate.
(vii) The order of topics shall be approved by the
department as part of the course approval, and for each student, the
course shall be taught in the order identified in the approved application.
(viii) Students shall not receive a uniform certificate
of course completion unless that student receives a grade of at least
70 percent on the final examination.
(ix) Specialized driving safety classrooms must have
sufficient seating for the number of students, arranged so that all
students are able to view, hear, and comprehend all instructional
aids and the class shall have no more than 50 students.
(x) The specialized driving safety instructor or school
shall make a material effort to establish the identity of the student.
(D) Minimum course content. A specialized driving safety
course shall include, as a minimum, four hours of instruction, as
shown in the COI-Specialized Driving Safety, that encourages the use
of child passenger safety seat systems and the wearing of seat belts,
etc., and materials adequate to assure student mastery of the subject
matter.
(E) Instructor training guides. An instructor training
guide contains a description of the plan, training techniques, and
curriculum to be used to train instructors to present the concepts
of the approved specialized driving safety course described in the
applicant's specialized driving safety course content guide. Each
course provider shall submit as part of the application an instructor
training guide that is bound or hole-punched and placed in a binder
and that has a cover and a table of contents. The guide shall include
the following:
(i) a statement of the philosophy and instructional
goals of the training course;
(ii) a description of the plan to be followed in training
instructors. The plan shall include, as a minimum, provisions for
the following:
(I) instruction of the trainee in the course curriculum;
(II) training the trainee in the techniques of instruction
that will be used in the course;
(III) training the trainee about administrative procedures
and course provider policies;
(IV) demonstration of desirable techniques of instruction
by the instructor trainer;
(V) a minimum of 15 minutes of instruction of the course
curriculum by the trainee under the observation of the instructor
trainer as part of the basic training course;
(VI) time to be dedicated to each training lesson;
and
(VII) a minimum of 600 minutes of instruction of the
course in a regular approved course under the observation of a licensed
specialized driving safety instructor trainer. The instructor trainee
shall provide instruction for two full courses. It is not mandatory
that the two courses be taught as two complete courses; however, every
instructional unit shall be taught twice; and
(iii) instructional units sufficient to address the
provisions identified in clause (ii)(I) - (VI). The total time of
the units shall contain a minimum of 16 instructional hours. Each
instructional unit shall include the following:
(I) the subject of the unit;
(II) the instructional objectives of the unit;
(III) time to be dedicated to the unit;
(IV) an outline of major concepts to be presented;
(V) instructional activities to be used to present
the material (i.e., lecture, films, other media, small-group discussions,
workbook activities, written and oral discussion questions). When
small-group discussions are planned, the course guide shall identify
the questions that will be assigned to the groups;
(VI) instructional resources for each unit; and
(VII) techniques for evaluating the comprehension level
of the students relative to the instructional unit. If oral or written
questions are to be used to measure student comprehension levels,
they shall be included in the instructor training guide. The evaluative
technique may be used throughout the unit or at the end.
(F) Examinations. Each course provider shall submit
for approval, as part of the application, tests designed to measure
the comprehension level of students at the completion of the specialized
driving safety course and the instructor training course. The comprehensive
examination for each specialized driving safety course must include
at least two questions from each unit, excluding the course introduction
and comprehensive examination units. The final examination questions
shall be of such difficulty that the answer may not easily be determined
without completing the actual instruction. Instructors shall not assist
students in answering the final examination questions unless alternative
testing is required. Instructors may not be certified or students
given credit for the specialized driving safety course unless they
score 70 percent or more on the final test. The course content guide
shall identify alternative testing techniques to be used for students
with reading, hearing, or learning disabilities and policies for retesting
students who score less than 70 percent on the final examination.
The applicant may choose not to provide alternative testing techniques;
however, students shall be advised whether the course provides alternative
testing prior to enrollment in the course. Test questions may be short
answer, multiple choice, essay, or a combination of these forms.
(G) Requirements for authorship. The course shall be
authored by an individual who possesses a current or past National
Highway Traffic Safety Association Child Passenger Safety technician
or instructor certificate.
(2) Specialized driving safety instructor development
courses.
(A) If the alternative instructor training in §84.64
is not applicable, specialized driving safety instructors shall successfully
complete 28 clock hours (50 minutes of instruction in a 60-minute
period) in the approved instructor development course for the specialized
driving safety course to be taught, under the supervision of a specialized
driving safety instructor trainer. Supervision is considered to have
occurred when the instructor trainer is present and personally provides
the 28 clock hours of training for the instructors, excluding those
clock hours approved by department staff that may be presented by
a guest speaker or using films and other media that Cont'd... |
