North Carolina’s Experience with the NHTSA Driver Education Assessment & ANSTSE Technical Assistance Reggie Flythe, ADTSEA President Connie Sessoms, Jr., ANSTSE Chairperson Karl Logan, NCDPI Driver Education Consultant

Brief Introductions of Presenters Reggie Flythe – Retired North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Driver Education Consultant; Former Wake County Public School System Driver Education Coordinating Teacher Connie Sessoms, Jr. – Driver Education Specialist, Charlotte- Mecklenburg Schools; Executive Secretary of North Carolina Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association Karl Logan – Current North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Driver Education Consultant; Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Driver Education Specialist

Brief History of NC Driver Education Pre-1992 – DE in school day, all staff DPI licensed, seven full-time DPI staff for DE 1992 – DE out of school day, contracting allowed, funding cut but program fully funded 1992 – 2010; Full-time DE staff dwindled to one part-time position 2010 - OSBM Report (Nov.); Program Evaluation Division (PED) Review (Dec.) showed lack of program administration & oversight in DPI, no standardized curriculum, no performance measures present; DPI/SBE directed to create a driver education strategic plan

2011 - 2013 2011 – Driver Education Reform bill, curriculum revised, state funding cut – offset by up to $45 student fee, part-time consultant for driver education only hired 2012 – Part-time consultant worked to reconnect with local districts, draft strategic plan composed by working group of advisory committee members 2013 – Full-time DE Consultant Position re-established, Driver Education Strategic Plan adopted by State Board of Education (Feb.), Advisory Committee established in board policy (Nov.), state funding cut – offset by student fee of up to $65

2014 DPI/DMV Testing Report to legislature Final PED Report on DE Senate Bill 744 – Intended to cut all state funding (Did NOT pass) DPI partitioned NC GHSP to provide grant for NHTSA Peer Review in 2015 NC Highway Safety Plan (released July)

2014 Participated in the development of the 2015 NC Strategic Highway Safety Plan; Driver Education mentioned in five of nine emphasis categories ANSTSE On-Site Technical Assistance was formally requested on July 2 and provided August 18 – 20, 2014

ANSTSE Technical Assistance for NC Assistance was provided at NO COST to our State Focused on two areas included in the National Standards: Program Administration & Teacher Qualifications Phone call was made prior to visit to brief assistance team Materials and web links to articles and reports were provided to team members prior to visit

Technical Assistance On-Site Team members used the National Standards to assess how NC was performing in the areas of Program Administration and Instructor Qualifications Team members reviewed documents relevant to driver education historically since the OSBM & PED review of 2010 Team members met with Driver Education Advisory Committee, DE stakeholders, Program Evaluation Division & DPI staff Team members provided a list of accomplishments and recommendations in preparation for a full assessment

What did Technical Assistance do for NC? Provided detailed analysis in the two areas of focus Provided accomplishments & focused on standards that needed improvement Identified items that could be improved short-term and those that need long-term solutions Laid the groundwork for a thorough self-assessment, in preparation for the NHTSA assessment Provided support for driver education which caught eye of legislators

NHTSA Driver Education Assessment Requested $30,000 in grant funding from Governor’s Highway Safety in 2014. Funding provided in 2015 GHSP budget. NHTSA Assessment scheduled for May 5 – 8, 2015 Five Assessment Team Members, One NHTSA representative and One Staff Member

NHTSA Assessment Schedule Team arrived on Monday, May 4 Team heard testimony Tuesday, May 5 & Wednesday, May 6 Team held closed session on Thursday, May 7 Report out on Friday, May 8 – Priority Recommendations shared with the Public, Draft report provided to NHTSA for Final Review Official report provided to State of North Carolina in early Fall 2015

What assessment did for NC Promoted collaboration among various State agencies and Driver Education stakeholders Provided a detailed, unbiased look at Driver Education in NC Provided details on how NC aligns with the National Standards Provided recommendations to assist NC in meeting standards in the areas of Program Administration, Education & Training, Instructor Qualifications, Parental Involvement and Coordination with Driver Licensing

What assessment did for NC Recommendations provided guidance for Driver Education Consultant, DEAC, State Agencies and other stakeholders to use in program improvements and policy development Provided legislators a NHTSA supported document, using the National Standards, to review and assist in future legislation

Connie Sessoms During this transition, Connie Sessoms was the Chair of the Driver Education Advisory Committee (DEAC) NC had a functioning DEAC already engrossed in State School Board policy. Wide Range of Stakeholders Provided guidance and advice to Dr. Matthews in the absence of a DPI DE Consultant

Connie Sessoms The DEAC divided into subcommittees to discuss each focus area of the Assessment Meetings were held mostly by webinar Recommendations were made with a particular focus first on changes that could be made that did not have a high dollar cost Recommendations were brought back to the larger committee for ratification and proposal

Connie Sessoms Some of the hot button issues: Standardized Curriculum with a standardized final assessment Strategic Plan update Parent Involvement Performance Measures Teacher Qualifications and Training Police Traffic Stops Online Driver Education

Connie Sessoms The full blown State Assessment – Peer Review did not reveal any surprises because of the Self-Assessment requirement feature as well as the Onsite Technical Assistance prerequisite. Part of our success has been because of a robust and involved state association, a legislative consultant and some key influential legislators.

Funding for program ended June 30, 2015 July 1, 2015 – Oct. 1, 2015 Sept. 18, 2015 Funding restored Dec. 14, 2015 – New Consultant hired

HB 97 (2015 Appropriations Act 15 Questions by the General Assembly SECTION 8.39.(d) Local boards of education shall report to the State Board of Education no later than December 15, 2015, on the following related to driver education programs offered by and through the local school administrative unit for the: 2012 - 2013, 2013 -2014, 2014 -2015, 2015 - 2016 school years:

HB 97 (2015 Appropriations Act Data Driver Education Multi-year Survey 164 Questions 18,860 responses

Types of Questions 1. How the program is provided 2. Cost/student 3. How the fleet is provided and maintained 4. Numbers of students eligible 5. Instructional materials used. 6. Transfer of student info to other agencies 7. Role of parents 8. Complaints resolution process 9. Wait time between classroom phases and BTW. 10. Average and maximum classroom hours on: School days and Non-school days 11. Average and max time for BTW School days and Non-school days 12. Process to review teacher’s driving records. 14. Tracking of student outcomes at the license office. 15. Fees- reduction or waiver policy, and how many meet the qualifications.

NC Driver Education Reform Matrix National Standards of 2009 Driver Education Strategic Plan 2012 NC Driver Education Assessment May 2015 General Assembly 15 questions HB 97 DEAC Program Administration ✔ Oversight Standardized Curriculum Other Program Recommendations Instructor Qualifications Coordination with Driver Licensing Parental Involvement

Driver Education Reform Implementation Plan Matrix - April 2016 North Carolina Driver Education Reform Implementation Plan Matrix - April 2016 Ben Matthews1 / Karl Logan2 Action Steps from NHTSA Plan Components Strategies Accountability Measures Lead Timeline Program Administration (Oversight) LEA Reporting Implement new requirements for quarterly reports. Receive appropriate reports. Explore more efficient means to receive necessary information. Require necessary information from LEA to evaluate local programs. DPI Aug. 2016 Done LEA Performance Indicators Develop Performance Indicators Create using information gained from NHTSA review and other criteria. DPI/DEAC Jan. 2017 On-site DMV-SBTS personnel Use partnership with DMV to assist in oversight presence at LEA. Align DPI and DMV-SBTS administrative policies as they relate to administration. SBTS DPI Aug. 2017 Parental Involvement Mandatory Parent Meeting identify LEAs with success at current volunteer session, find best practices to replicate, Legislative recommendations. Poll LEAs on success rates, attendance and best practices to use statistical date which supports parental involvement. Spring 2017 Coordination with Driver License Partnership with Licensing agency Establish quarterly meetings Collaboration to decrease or eliminate repetitive students to license offices, determine best practices, evaluate other perimeter issues between both agencies. Receive valuable data to develop curriculum changes. DPI DMV 5/1/2016 Done Instructor Qualifications Instructor recertification Align DPI and DMV-SBTS certification policies. Evaluate current DPI license and DMV certification and determine credits and renewal cycles. DPI DMV-SBTS Nov. 2016 DMV teacher certification Examination of 80-hour DMV certification Study LEAs that require extra training in addition to the minimum standards to establish effective teacher training. DMV-SBTS Fall 2017 Advocate for Legislation Support legislation to increase restrictions on number of passengers in a vehicle when the driver is under 18. Studies shows decrease in fatalities when there is someone in the car over 35 years of age. There is a significant increase of fatalities with the number of passengers in the vehicle under 21. DPI GHSP