Here's My Proposal

I think that the Driver's Education Class is one that we need here are Chinquapin. Our students don't have the time to take a Driver's Education class outside of school, and if we offered one here, we could save a lot of time for the students while making them valuable assets to their families and their community. As I have stressed as part of my project platform, I firmly believe that Driver's Education and a license are necessary to be considered an adult.

The class's scheduling is the easiest part to figure out. Texas laws state that a potential driver under the age of 18 must take some 38 hours of Driver's Education. However, the same driver at or over the age of 18 only has to take 6 hours. This is a huge deterrent to students who would like to take the class. It would decrease enrollment to nearly only seniors. The small number of students means that it wouldn't be that much of an impact to place the class during P.E. Since the would only be 6 hours, the seniors would be able to finish all the the required class hours within 3 weeks, assuming that the class is taken during 2 of the 4 P.E. hours during the week. A faculty member who doesn't teach a P.E. class could teach the Driver's Education class.

To become an instructor for a Driver's Education class, one must have a relatively clean license. A prospective instructor must not have any convictions (leastways, not any recent ones) and must have no history of fraud or moral turpitude. There must not be any history of drunken driving or license suspension. Other than that, anyone with a diploma and a license qualifies to teach. To become a teacher, one must have a certificate showing that he or she has taken at least 9 semester hours of a driver and traffic safety education course at an accredited college or university.

The only insurance cost is that of the vehicles. Since the vans are registered to the school, they are insured by the school and can be used for the class. The class could be held in any number of parking lots around the area. Many of them aren't used extensively, and so can be driven around in. However, practicing driving can be done on the weekends with the students' parents. The only thing needed for the school to hand out is the permit to practice on the open road.

This class could be put into practice within the next two years, if someone picks up this packet soon. The only thing left to do is find out how to pay the costs of the classes needed for the instructor, and the cost for the class, which is required to pay the teacher for the extra time spent.

Well, that's it. What do you think of my proposal?

Open-Source Proposal

I had a genius idea. This post will be a comment post. I will need everyone's help here, so spread the word. I would like for people to comment with any questions they have about my class. This post will be the backbone of my proposal. Think of you guys as Mozilla, and my proposal will be Firefox. I will not reply to your comments, but I will post my proposal when it is ready. You can see your influences then.

The Next Step

So, I asked Susan, who's in charge of the curriculum, how to add something to the curriculum. In order to get my class taught here, it would have to be added to the curriculum and scheduled in. Basically, it has to chewed up and spit out by the system. I have to write an outline of the class, telling everything about it, and answer almost every question that someone might have about it. Susan would then take my outline, which would also be my proposal, to the board and they would debate it. I think if I can make my project coherent, I have a pretty good chance. Let's get started!

While You Were Away...

So over the break, Rep. Walle's office contacted me back, as did the other people I had asked to be on my panel. Everyone said yes, so the green light has been lit, but Rep. Walle also sent me some information that my sources didn't have. It's great to be in contact with someone in the system. Here is the law that I was emailed.

Sec. 1001.353. DRIVER TRAINING COURSE AT PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SCHOOL.

A driver training school may conduct a driver training course at a public or private school for students of the public or private school as provided by an agreement with the public or private school. The course is subject to any law applicable to a course conducted at the main business location of the driver training school.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1276, Sec. 6.012(a), eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

§176.1003. Driver Education School Licensure.

(k) Contract site. A school shall receive approval from TEA prior to conducting a class at a contract site, and approval may be granted by TEA upon review of the agreement made between the licensed driver education school and the contract site. The course shall be subject to the same rules that apply at the licensed driver education school, including periodic inspections by TEA representatives. An on-site inspection is not required prior to approval of the course.

The office was also gracious enough to send me some links to the Texas Driver Statute and to the Rules about teaching Driver's Ed. This thing could really work, and I also apologize for misleading y'all with my earlier posts, but if it helps, I was just as misled. Till next time, y'all!

My Sentence

My sentence would look something like this:

He brought a Driver's Ed program to a school that needed it, and started a revolution in the way people relate college preparatory and Driver's Ed.

(Not) Final Post: Where Am I?

So this is the final blog. I don’t mean final as in last, but instead final as in “this is my Senior Seminar Final.” I haven’t needed any more information on the classes and the state laws, so the next thing for me to tackle is the logistics. Specifically, I mean the cost and the legislature. I plan on my panel members helping me with that aspect. I plan on inviting Dr. Ray Griffin, because he has actually done this kind of thing before. He has started a Driver’s Ed program at another private school, so he has the perfect amount of experience. He’s also very good at scoring grants for the school, so he can tell me how to do it. Another panel member that I want to invite is Board of Trustees President Leon Payne. He has expressed interest in my project, and that really excites me. One member that is kind of on the fence is the state representative for my district, Armando Walle. He is in the state legislature and I believe he could really help me with the larger picture. However, he hasn’t contacted me back except for just one email so I don’t have my hopes up for him. I would also like to invite Brian Lamore. While he taught at Chinquapin, he was a genius at getting grants. I believe that his advice, coupled with Dr. Griffin’s advice, will be invaluable. Over the break, I will really have to convince Rep. Walle to join my review panel. Also, Brian Lamore has been rather quiet, so I will have to send the feelers out towards him. By January, I should be able to start applying for grants, with Dr. Griffin and Brian’s assistance. With Rep. Walle’s guidance, I can see the best way to tackle the legislature that restricts schools like mine. Mr. Payne is a valuable source of my project’s real-world application, without the influence of politics or anything like that. We’ll get things done, people.

Info You Should Know

I named the blog this because it's late (actual time: 11:55), I'm a little sleepy, I'm writing my speech, and you guys don't quite know exactly what I'm up against here. I was reading comments on my blogs. To Tito and Lorena's blogs, I say this: there is no text that follows the requirements that the DMV of Texas has. This, also, can be found on the links that I posted last time. To Susan's blogs, I say this: You actually help me blog more. The questions you ask help me inform people that haven't been reading as much as I have. To Elber's post, I say this: I plan on appealing to Dr. Griffin and the people who handle the green around here. Aside from that, the small matter of ten grand shouldn't be too hard to get. There are foundations that give money to places like us for things like this. However, none of this is going to be easy. The Man is trying to keep me down, but I must fight the power. One boy versus the system is the name of the game.

More Recent Developments

Due to a consensus of opinion, (read as: Susan) I have to tell you my sources. Although I used to say that if I told you, I'd have to kill you, this is a grade. I looked up two different sites. There was one that gave me information about teenagers receiving licenses, and another website that gave me information about starting a school for driver's ed. They were very helpful, because the Texas Education Agency knows all about that stuff. Until next time!

Recent Developments

People, I'm not going to lie to you. It's going to be difficult. I extensively researched Driver's Ed. laws in Texas, and here's what I found:
1) There is a law requiring 34 hours of Driver's Ed. to get a license
2) Driver's Ed. can be taught at a public high school or at a licensed Drivers' Ed. school
3) There are classes one has to take to be an Driver's Ed. Instructor (6 semester hours of driver and traffic safety education courses
4) It costs $75 to get a Texas Driver Education Instructor license
5) There are school application fees of $1030, a $10000 corporate surety bond which is required for each primary driver education school, and a $5000 bond which is required for each branch
Yes. It's not going to be easy. I think I'll deserve points for trying, though!

The Start of The Revolution

I would like to start a Driver’s Ed class here at Chinquapin. Many other high schools offer Driver’s Ed. I think that, as a high school itself, Chinquapin should offer these classes to be well rounded. Many students between the ages of fourteen and eighteen can drive already, anyway. These students don’t have licenses because it has become such a hassle to get them. A mandatory twenty hours of Driver’s Ed is necessary to get a license, no matter the age. Most students don’t have the time to devote to the classes. They have online classes, but credit cards or PayPal is needed. They could take the classes on weekends, but most students focus on homework, help around the house, or they have jobs on the weekends. They simply don’t have the time or the money to take the classes. Parents also figure why should they take the class if they already know how to drive? If Chinquapin were to offer Driver’s Ed classes, several birds would be killed with one stone. Illegal drivers would become legal, driving-age students would acquire licenses, and colleges would look favorably on Driver’s Ed.

School cars would be a necessity. I believe I can get them be asking a small dealership to donate a good, used car to the school. It would be a tax write-off for them, and we would get a car. We could also buy one for incredibly cheap and fix it up. This would be a good time to offer a Mechanical Shop class. Insurance for the cars would also be needed. I am currently learning the best way to get grants for the school, and I believe I wouldn’t be the only one interested in getting this program off of the ground. The last thing to get would be the instructor. In order to be a driving instructor, you must have a valid license, read English, and have taken a course given by the DMV.

I also would like a mentor along the way. I am leaning towards Dr. Ray Griffin. He is really good at getting grants for the school, and he started a Driver’s Ed class before, so I would have found a master. My second choice would be someone who would be on board with me the whole way. A little encouragement never hurts. Jeremy Duncan seems to be a forward-thinking, kind individual.