Section 2834 - Qualifications and standardsThe qualifications for licensure and the standards of licensure.
(1) School Plant. (a) General. (i) The situs of a school, branch school and practice driver training area shall be a distance of at least fifteen hundred (1500) feet from any official examination point used by the Pennsylvania State Police for examining motor vehicle operators, which distance shall be measured along the public streets by the nearest route from the school, branch school or practice driver training area to the said point.(ii) The outdoor area used during the first three (3) hours of practical instruction by persons who hold a learner's permit shall be one which is reasonably free of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and shall not include primary traffic arteries, main highway routes or other thoroughfares that carry large amounts of the said traffic.(b) In the case of a school where five (5) or more students are assembled as a group for theoretical instruction in Driver Education.(i) The premises, equipment and facilities of the school shall conform to all safety and sanitary requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any of its political subdivisions applicable thereto.(ii) The provisions for the health, physical welfare and safety of student personnel shall be those prescribed by the governmental authorities having jurisdiction over such matters.(iii) The artificial lighting facilities shall provide a minimum of twenty-five (25) foot-candles of illumination on the horizontal surfaces of all indoor activity areas used for school purposes.(iv) The heating facilities shall be sufficient to provide for the maintenance of normal room temperatures in all rooms occupied by students when the outside temperature is less than normal room temperature. When the school does not use mechanical ventilation, windows shall be used and equipped for ventilating purposes.(v) The premises, facilities and any alterations of or additions to the premises or facilities must be approved by the Department of Public Instruction before the premises or facilities may be used for school purposes and before any of the said alterations or additions may be made.(2) Teacher and Director Qualifications. (a) Every teacher in a school shall be a citizen of the United States, at least eighteen (18) years of age, and a person of good moral character.(b) Every teacher shall have a valid motor vehicle operator's license issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and shall submit documentary evidence of having driven a minimum of fifteen thousand (15,000) miles under all kinds of weather conditions in both urban and rural areas.(c) Every teacher must maintain, during any consecutive three-year period, a driving record which does not include more than one (1) reportable accident, as defined in The Vehicle Code, resulting in a suspension or revocation of his motor vehicle operator's license.(d) Every teacher must pass (1) a written theoretical examination prepared and administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or such agency as he may designate, and embracing subject matter pertinent to the care, operation and use of a motor vehicle on the highways and to general highway safety principles and practices, and (2) a practical examination, prepared and administered by the Secretary of Revenue or such agency as he may designate, for the purpose of testing a teacher's competency and fitness in the operation of a motor vehicle.(e) Every teacher shall present a certificate from a physician, legally qualified to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, setting forth that said person is neither mentally nor physically disqualified by reason of tuberculosis nor any other chronic or acute physical defect from performing the duties of a driver education teacher.(f) A director or supervisor of a school or branch thereof shall meet the qualifications of a teacher as set forth hereinbefore in this section, and shall have had a minimum of two (2) years' successful teaching experience in a private or public driver training school or class.(g) Every school that employs five (5) or more full-time teachers or an equivalent number of part-time teachers shall designate a director, who shall meet the qualifications prescribed in section 4(2)(f) and who shall devote at least one-half of his time to the performance of administrative and supervisory duties.(3) Instructional Equipment and Materials.(a) The amount and type of school furniture, instructional equipment and instructional materials shall be governed by the character and scope of the educational program of the school, the number of pupils enrolled, and the objectives of the educational program of the school, and shall conform to generally accepted educational standards.(b) The amount and type of school furniture and of instructional equipment and materials shall not be required to exceed or to vary from that which is generally used in connection with the programs of driver education in public schools of like character and scope.(c) Every school shall provide text, test and reference materials, including pamphlets and visual aids, for the instruction in the theoretical and practical phases of driver training.(d) Every vehicle used for practical driver training shall be a recent model, not more than eight (8) years old or having not more than eighty thousand (80,000) miles, whichever occurs later, with special equipment as follows: operable extra brake pedal, and in the case of vehicles equipped with standard transmission an operable extra clutch pedal, defroster and heater in working order, rear-view mirror placed on the inside of the car in the vicinity of the cowl, two (2) outside rear-view mirrors, one on each side of the vehicle, and cushions for the proper seating of the students.(e) Every school shall provide insurance coverage on all cars used for practical driver training. This coverage shall include at least (a) 50-100 thousand dollars public liability, (b) five thousand dollars property damage, (c) two thousand dollars medical.(4) Program of Instruction.(a) Driver training schools licensed under this act shall make available both the theoretical and practical instruction.(b) Theoretical instruction in driver education shall include subject matter relating to rules and regulations of the road, safe driving practices, pedestrian safety care and mechanics of motor vehicles, driver responsibility, theory of driving, types of automobile insurance, and the use of automobile safety devices.(c) Practical instruction in driver education shall include the demonstration of and actual instruction in starting, stopping, shifting, turning, backing, parking and steering in a training vehicle which shall meet the requirements of the Department of Public Instruction.(d) Driver training schools licensed under this act shall publish a schedule of prospectus of fees or charges for behind-the-wheel lessons, classroom lessons, refresher lessons, and all other fees or charges made by the school. A copy of a prospectus setting forth the aforesaid information shall be filed with the Department of Public Instruction.(5) Fees.(a) Every school shall inform each student, prior to the time instruction commences, of the character and amount of any and all fees or charges made for enrollment or registration, tuition, use of equipment, texts and reference materials, supplies, and any other service, equipment or materials provided by the school.(6) Records. (a) Every school shall establish and maintain complete, accurate and detailed financial records that shall include data pertaining to assets, liabilities, sources and amount of income, and the character and amount of expenditures. The said records shall be kept current and available for inspection during regular school hours by one or more representatives of the department.(b) Every school shall maintain adequate records of individuals, and each school shall maintain a permanent cumulative record card for each pupil. Such record card shall indicate the number of clock hours of instruction received by each pupil, and shall contain information on attendance, achievement test scores, personal characteristics, health, and other pertinent topics. Such records shall be kept current and available for inspection at all times during regular school hours by one or more representatives of the department.(7) Agents. (a) Each agent shall be a person of good moral character, a citizen of the United States, and at least eighteen (18) years of age.(b) An agent representing a school which is located outside this Commonwealth shall submit to the department such information and data pertaining to the said school as the department may deem necessary and require, in order to validate any representation made in behalf of the said school by the said agent. The department may require the said information and data to be certified by such educational authorities of the other state as the department may designate.(c) An agent's license shall not be granted to an agent of a school which is located outside this Commonwealth unless the said school maintains educational standards and policies that are substantially equivalent to those prescribed herein for driver training schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.(d) Each agent shall display or produce his agent's license certificate when requested to do so by prospective students or a representative of the department.(8) Ownership. (a) Each individual proprietor of a school, each member of a partnership association or company that owns a school, and each officer and director of a corporation that owns a school, who is directly connected with the conduct and operation of the educational program, shall be a person of good moral character, a citizen of the United States, and at least eighteen (18) years of age. The said persons and any school employe thereof shall not be addicted to the use of alcoholic liquors, morphine, cocaine or other drugs having a similar effect, and shall not be mentally incompetent.(b) A license shall be granted to the owner of a particular school for the specific ownership constituency and the specific school situs designated in the application for a license. Any change in ownership or in school situs must be approved by the board prior to the date of the said change.(c) A change in ownership requires an application for an original license, which application shall be submitted to the department at least thirty (30) days in advance of the effective date of the said change, and the school shall not be conducted or operated under the new or different individual proprietorship, partnership, association, company or corporation until and unless an original license has been granted and issued to the new or different ownership constituency.1952, Jan. 18, P.L. (1951) 2128, § 4. Amended 1963, July 31, P.L. 403, § 1; 1972, June 16, P.L. 434, No. 130, § 1; 1990, Nov. 29, P.L. 573, No. 146, § 1, imd. effective; 1998, Nov. 24, P.L. 826, No. 107, § 1, effective in 60 days.