Schools balk at six-hour driving requirement

Six hours of on-the-road driving experience is proving a bit too hard to handle for at least 10 suburban high school districts.

They've asked the state to exempt them from key changes the legislature approved last year to beef up driver's education. Instead, the districts argue, they should be able to use a combination of road experience and simulated driving lessons.

In most cases, that means scaling back the state's new six-hour requirement to three hours, which is what the districts usually provided before.

While districts argue the new law could cost them a half-million dollars or more annually in teachers' salaries, they say the larger issue is letting them continue proven programs.

"Too often we equate quantity with quality," said Paul Zientarski, Naperville Central High School's department chairman for physical education, health and driver's education.

"If you're stuck in traffic for half an hour, that's not necessarily quality time. To always just put a quantity as a qualifier, I'm not so sure that's the way to look at programs," he said.

Naperville Unit District 203 is among the districts that requested a waiver from the state regarding the driving requirement. District 203 now uses three hours of real-time driving with an instructor and 12 hours on simulators.

The four schools within Glenbard High School District 87 do the same.

"We believe the simulator … is a good way to teach driver's education -- not in and of itself, but as a step in its process," said John Moss, District 87 director of special services.

If required to add another three hours of on-the-road driving, District 87 would need to hire the equivalent of an additional 10 teachers, which carries an estimated cost of $550,000 a year, he said.

The Teen Driver Safety Task Force, formed by Secretary of State Jesse White, recommended numerous changes aimed at giving high school students a better, safer and more realistic driving experience.

When the legislature approved changing the law, it promised funding as well. So far, that hasn't materialized.

Nonetheless, White's office is opposed to the waivers.

Office spokesman Henry Haupt said they don't oppose the use of driving simulators. They simply want teens to have more behind-the-wheel experience.

"The law has been lauded by both state and national traffic organizations," Haupt said. "We also expect the General Assembly will understand the need to provide funding to carry out this critical six-hour component. The bottom line is we want to save kids' lives."

Other districts that applied for waivers include Lake Park High School District 108, St. Charles District 303, West Chicago High School District 94, West Aurora Unit District 129, Crystal Lake High School District 155, Niles Township High School District 219, Oak Park-River Forest District 200 and Lyons Township High School District 204.