A.
Individuals seeking an instructor's license shall submit, as required by this
chapter, a completed application along with any associated fees and other
appropriate documentation to the school with which the individual is employed.
Schools shall be responsible for submitting the instructor applications, along
with any associated fees and other appropriate documentation, to the department
as required by this chapter. Applicants seeking an original or a renewal of an
instructor's license shall submit with the application a national criminal
records check completed within 60 days of the submission date of the
application.
B. Applicants must be
at least 21 years of age and must be able to document with driving records at
least five years of licensed driving experience, two years of which shall be
experience in the United States or a territory thereof. In the event an
applicant uses driving records from a foreign country to substantiate licensed
driving experience, such records must be translated into English by an
appropriate authority, as approved by the department, at the applicant's
expense.
C. Individuals seeking an
instructor's license must be employed by a licensed school. No instructor shall
be employed by more than one school unless all the schools are owned by the
same person. Instructors employed by more than one school shall have an
application and other appropriate documentation and fees submitted to the
department by each school that employs the individual.
D. Individuals licensed as instructors or
seeking an instructor's license must be able to effectively communicate in
English in an easily understood and comprehensible manner to students and the
department, as determined by the department.
E. Individuals seeking an instructor's
license to teach in-vehicle instruction shall hold a valid driver's license
from the individual's state of domicile at the time of licensing and throughout
the entire licensure period. If such driver's licenses are from another state
or jurisdiction, the applicant must provide to the department a copy of the
applicant's driving record from that jurisdiction with the application and
every three months thereafter if the applicant receives an instructor's
license. Such driving record must be produced within 30 days of submitting the
driving record to the department.
All applicants for a license to teach in-vehicle
instruction and those persons who are currently licensed to teach in-vehicle
instruction must also provide notice to the department, in a format prescribed
by the department, of any convictions of traffic infractions, misdemeanors, or
felonies, as well as any administrative actions relating to driving or any
driver's license revocation, suspension, cancellation, disqualification, or
other loss of driving privileges within 15 calendar days of the conviction or
administrative action, or within 15 calendar days of the imposition of the
revocation, suspension, cancellation, disqualification, or other loss of
driving privileges.
An applicant for a license to teach in-vehicle instruction
shall not be approved if the applicant's current driving privileges are
expired, suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified. Any person required to
submit to periodic medical reviews may also be denied an in-vehicle
instructor's license if, as determined by the department, the person's
conditions are considered to pose a threat to the safety, health, or welfare of
driver training students or the public while the person operates a motor
vehicle.
F. Individuals who
obtain an instructor's license shall at the time of licensing have a driving
record with no more than six demerit points. After licensing, instructors shall
maintain a driving record with no more than six demerit points. If, during the
licensure period, the driving record of such individual accumulates more than
six demerit points based on violations occurring in a 12-month period, the
department shall suspend the person's instructor license and shall notify the
instructor and the driver training school where the instructor is employed of
such suspension. Safe driving points shall not be used to reduce the
accumulated demerit points. In the event that the driving record is from
another state, the department will apply Virginia's equivalent demerit points
to convictions noted on such record.
Whenever the individual no longer has a valid driving
credential or is convicted in any court of reckless driving, driving under the
influence, or driving while intoxicated, the department shall suspend the
person's instructor license and shall notify the person and the driver training
school where the instructor is employed of the suspension.
G. The department may refuse to approve any
application, including originals or renewals, in which the applicant has been
convicted of any felony or a misdemeanor conviction involving:
1. Sexual assault as established in Article 7
(§
18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of
Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia;
2. Obscenity and related offenses as
established in Article 5 (§
18.2-372 et seq.) of Chapter 8
of Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia;
3. Drugs as established in Article 1 (§
18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7
of Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia;
4. Crimes of moral turpitude;
5. Contributing to the delinquency of a
minor;
6. Taking indecent liberties
with a minor;
7. The physical or
sexual abuse or neglect of a child;
8. Similar offenses in other jurisdictions;
or
9. Other offenses as determined
by the department that would indicate that the applicant may present a danger
to the safety of students or the public.
Instructor licenses may be suspended or revoked if a
conviction for any of the offenses outlined in this subsection occurs during
any licensure period.
H. Instructor applicants shall not be issued
a license if the applicant has a conviction of driving under the influence,
reckless driving, refusal to submit to a breath or blood test under §
18.2-268.2 of the Code of
Virginia, or vehicular or involuntary manslaughter, or of any similar offense
from any other jurisdiction within a period of five years prior to the date of
the application. If the applicant's driving privileges were revoked for any
such conviction, then the five-year period shall be measured from the license
restoration date rather than the conviction date. Instructor licenses issued
shall be revoked if a conviction, as outlined in this subsection, occurs during
the licensure period.
I. An
individual seeking a Class B instructor's license shall have at least a high
school diploma or equivalent. After initial licensure or renewal, Class A and
Class B instructors shall attend annual training sessions provided by the
department. These one-day training sessions shall be held in each of the
department's regional districts every year, as deemed necessary by the
department.
These sessions shall include, as appropriate and necessary,
updates on department forms, audit processes and other procedural changes, and
new legislation that has implications for driver training. They shall also
include discussions about any issues or concerns raised by either the
department or the licensees.
When available, these sessions shall also offer information
about the latest in driver training instructional techniques as well as other
new developments in driver training in order to enhance overall professional
training skills and abilities.
The schedule for such training sessions shall be developed
by the department and provided to each instructor through the school that
employs the instructor at least 30 days in advance of the scheduled sessions.
The schedule also shall include provisions for a make-up training session for
those licensees who could not attend the training session in their region.
Attendance shall be mandatory and shall be at no cost to licensed instructors,
other than those costs associated with travel to and from the training session,
including lodging and meals.
Each licensed instructor who, without valid excuse, fails
to attend and complete a scheduled training session or a scheduled make-up
training session shall be subject to a minimum 30-day license suspension, which
shall not be lifted until the instructor has completed a special make-up
training session. Special make-up training sessions shall be provided only when
necessary, and instructors attending such sessions will be required to pay the
department's cost for providing the special make-up training session.
J. All instructors shall complete
training on the current curriculum and other course work, as required and
approved by the department, prior to instructing students. Evidence of such
training shall be maintained by the school employing the instructor and
provided to the department upon request.
K. The fee for an instructor license shall be
set pursuant to this chapter. The instructor's license period shall expire when
the respective school license expires. At the discretion of the department,
instructor licensing fees may be prorated on a monthly basis.
L. The instructor license application package
shall be submitted by the school employing the instructor to the department in
a format prescribed by the department. All proper applications will be either
approved or denied by the department within 30 business days of receipt from
the school employing the instructor.
M. All licensed instructors shall have their
instructor's license in their possession at all times while providing
instruction.
N. Each instructor
licensed by the department shall notify the department in a format prescribed
by the department within 30 days of establishing a new residential
address.
O. In the event that a
school licensed by the department changes its name or address, the school
shall, no later than 30 days prior to such change (i) notify the department of
the school's name or address change, (ii) request revised instructor's licenses
for the instructors it employs reflecting the change, and (iii) submit to the
department the processing fees set forth in this chapter for revising and
reissuing an instructor's license for each of its instructors.
After receiving the processing fees, the department will
revise and reissue the instructor's licenses, as requested, and will cancel the
previously issued licenses. Once it receives the revised licenses from the
department, the school shall return the cancelled instructor's licenses to the
department.
