Driver's License and Reading Tests

If passed, this bill would make students who are minors pass an 8th grade reading test before getting their driver’s license.

• Minors: people who are under 18 years old

• If they don’t pass the school’s reading test, minors will have to take reading classes or pass another reading test.

• If a student has an individualized education plan (IEP), their parents can write a note saying that the student can read. 

  • Individualized education plan (IEP): a plan made for a disabled student who needs extra support in school. The plan says what the student is good at, what they need help with, and how the school will support them so they can learn and succeed.

• To get their driver’s license, students must:

  • Be in high school or have finished high school

  • Have a diploma or certificate of completion after high school

  • Making progress on a GED program

    • GED program: a degree that people can get if they leave high school before graduation

  • Pass a reading test 

• People who aren’t in high school must work at least 24 hours a week to get and keep their driver’s license. 

• People must give the Department of Public Safety proof that they are in school, have a high school diploma, working on their GED, or are working. 

• If a student drops out of school, the school must tell the Department of Public Safety within 15 days. 

• If a student is no longer working, they must start taking classes for their GED or find another job within 15 days. If not, they will lose their driver’s license.