1. 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

2. 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

3. 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
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

4.
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

5. 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)

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. NHTSA Driver Education Assessment
Requested $30,000 in grant funding from Governor’s Highway Safety in 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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.

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

19. 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: , , ,
school years:

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

21. 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.

22. 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

23. 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 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