A new report by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) found fewer Tennessee teenagers are taking drivers education classes in high school.
According to the report, 60 school districts in Tennessee received state funding to provide more than 12,000 students with driver education classes last school year. That’s a noticeable decline from just four years ago when 65 districts received funding to provide the class to 15,000 students.
“The decline in offerings and enrollment may be due to a number of factors, including a lack of funding, lack of certified instructors, and competition from private driver education agencies,” wrote OREA in the report.
Districts shaded red received funding for driver education in 2021-22.
Tennessee does not require students 18 and younger to complete a driver education program before obtaining a driver license like 32 other states do. Because driver education is not required, students who complete their district’s course do so as an elective or summer school option.
Money is a Barrier
“If the state wants to fully fund a position for [driver education], we will be more than happy to add it,“ said an unidentified superintendent in the report.
Almost 37 percent of respondents in the OREA survey cited a lack of funding and 33 percent cited a lack of eligible or willing instructors as barriers in their districts to providing drivers education. Others cited a lack of interest from students or parents, a lack of effective curriculum options, or a lack of a reliable vehicle.
“I think it would be extremely beneficial for our students to be able to receive driver education in our schools but at this point we are using our resources to staff our academic programs and do not have extra for a driver education program,” said an unidentified superintendent in the report.
Several factors feed into how much a driver education course may cost according to the report, including the costs of paying an instructor, insurance, vehicle maintenance, and more.
OREA asked superintendents to estimate the total costs to their district per year for driver education courses and those respondents provided a broad range of estimates from $0 to $453,807 in annual costs.
Driver education is not specifically mentioned in Tennessee’s current Basic Education Plan (BEP) funding formula or the soon to be implemented Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) plan, but districts do have the option of allocating K-12 funding resources towards driver education.
Additionally, a portion of litigation privilege tax revenue is earmarked for driver education each year. In FY 2022, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) received an average of $87,511 per month through litigation privilege taxes for an annual total of $1,050,136 according to the report. TDOE distributes litigation privilege tax revenue to districts that offer driver education to use at their discretion.
To determine how funds will be dispersed, TDOE divides the total amount of revenue the department receives by the total number of students enrolled in driver education courses across the state. The resulting amount is used to distribute funding to districts based on the number of students enrolled in the driver education courses.
Ten districts with highest number of students participating in driver education | 2021-22
Source: Tennessee Department of Education.
“The General Assembly may wish to consider increasing the percentage of litigation privilege tax revenue that goes toward driver education in order to increase access and improve affordability for all students and school districts,” wrote OREA in the report. “If the percentage were increased, more funding would become available for school districts to use for driver education. However, assuming no change to the litigation privilege tax, increasing the percentage directed to TDOE for driver education would mean a reduction in funding available for the other funds, grants, and programs that receive a portion of litigation privilege tax revenues.”
Title I funds may be helpful
“Driver education is needed at our school. We are in a very low socio-economic area and some of the parents do not provide training for their kids. In order for these kids to become a success in life, they need to know how to drive and we are glad to provide the training for them,” said an unidentified Title I principal in the report.
Another possible avenue for assistance, according to the report, is Title I funding that provides financial assistance to districts for children from low-income households.
All school districts in Tennessee receive Title I funding but only 26.5 percent of superintendents surveyed stated that driver education is offered in Title I schools in their districts. School districts have some discretion according to the report, in how their Title I funds are distributed, operating either as targeted assistance or schoolwide programs.
“According to TDOE, a school may use Title I “to support any reasonable activity designed to improve its educational program as long as it is consistent with the school’s needs and plan,” said OREA in the report. “A school’s planning team prioritizes identified needs and determines where funds are best utilized. A TDOE representative stated that if driver education is identified as a priority need, it is allowable to file that expense under Title I,”
Educators believe Drivers Ed is needed
Driver education has been used to train new drivers for decades, giving them a chance to gain on-the-road experience under the direction of an instructor as well as instruction in the basic rules of the road in a classroom setting. Most courses in Tennessee offer a combination of classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel training as part of their driver education curriculum.
Statistically, teen drivers make up a high percentage of traffic crashes and fatalities.
Since 2010, an average of 21 percent of traffic crashes in Tennessee per year involved a driver under the age of 21 and the overall number of traffic fatalities involving teen drivers has been rising.
Note: Includes driver-operated vehicles only. Excludes parking lot and private property crashes as well as crashes with less than $400 damage. Source: Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Source: Tennessee Highway Patrol.
OREA did not identify any existing studies of the effectiveness of driver education programs in Tennessee but most superintendents surveyed felt that their district’s driver education program is very effective at reducing traffic accidents and fatalities involving teen drivers. Another 31 percent rated their programs as extremely effective at doing so.
Superintendents referenced positive feedback from parents, the ability of instructors to prepare students for the road, and a perceived decrease in accidents among students as reasons for their positive ratings.
“We have seen a decrease in accidents by our students, and we hope to continue this trend by educating students to be safe, attentive, defensive drivers,” said an unidentified superintendent in the report.
