Nineteen Suburban Schools Opt Out of Drivers Ed Rule

Nineteen Suburban Schools Opt Out of Drivers Ed Rule

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Nineteen Chicago suburban high schools got the green light to skip the new Illinois driver’s ed rule for now. Starting July, high schools will be required to include at least six hours of street driving instruction.

The Illinois General Assembly had 60 days to act on requests to bypass the drivers ed law. But the deadline passed without a vote from both houses. So schools like Niles Township High School got the five year waiver by default.

Niles instructor Karl Costello says six hours of street instruction is a costly way to teach students in an uncontrolled environment.

COSTELLO: Not all school districts would’ve been able to provide the additional vehicles or maybe the additional instructors to be able to meet the same enrollment that they would have for drivers ed.

A spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White’s office says the exemptions are disappointing. He says the purpose of the law is to make teens better drivers.