1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to drivers' licenses; modifying driver 
  1.3             education provision to allow for integrated classroom 
  1.4             and behind-the-wheel training; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 171.05, subdivision 
  1.6             2. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.9   171.05, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [PERSON LESS THAN 18 YEARS OF AGE.] (a) 
  1.11  Notwithstanding any provision in subdivision 1 to the contrary, 
  1.12  the department, upon application therefor, may issue an 
  1.13  instruction permit to an applicant who is 15, 16, or 17 years of 
  1.14  age and the applicant: 
  1.15     (1) has completed a course of driver education in another 
  1.16  state, has a previously issued valid license from another state, 
  1.17  or is enrolled in one of the following types of driver education 
  1.18  programs: 
  1.19     (i) a driver education program offered through the public 
  1.20  schools that includes classroom and behind-the-wheel training 
  1.21  and that has been approved by the commissioner of children, 
  1.22  families, and learning; 
  1.23     (ii) a course offered by a private, commercial driver 
  1.24  education school or institute that includes classroom and 
  1.25  behind-the-wheel training and that has been approved by the 
  1.26  department of public safety; or 
  2.1      (iii) an approved behind-the-wheel driver education program 
  2.2   when the student is receiving full-time instruction in a home 
  2.3   school within the meaning of sections 120A.22 and 120A.24, the 
  2.4   student is working toward a home-school diploma, the student's 
  2.5   status as a home-school student has been certified by the 
  2.6   superintendent of the school district in which the student 
  2.7   resides, and the student is taking home-classroom driver 
  2.8   training with classroom materials approved by the commissioner 
  2.9   of public safety; 
  2.10     (2) has completed the classroom phase of instruction in the 
  2.11  driver education program or is enrolled in a secondary school or 
  2.12  community education driver education program that utilizes 
  2.13  simulation or behind-the-wheel instruction integrated with the 
  2.14  classroom phase, as approved by the commissioner of children, 
  2.15  families, and learning; 
  2.16     (3) has passed a test of the applicant's eyesight; 
  2.17     (4) has passed a test of the applicant's knowledge of 
  2.18  traffic laws, which test must be administered by the department; 
  2.19     (5) has completed the required application, which must be 
  2.20  approved by (i) either parent when both reside in the same 
  2.21  household as the minor applicant or, if otherwise, then (ii) the 
  2.22  parent or spouse of the parent having custody or, in the event 
  2.23  there is no court order for custody, then (iii) the parent or 
  2.24  spouse of the parent with whom the minor is living or, if items 
  2.25  (i) to (iii) do not apply, then (iv) the guardian having custody 
  2.26  of the minor or, in the event a person under the age of 18 has 
  2.27  no living father, mother, or guardian, then (v) the applicant's 
  2.28  employer; provided, that the approval required by this clause 
  2.29  contains a verification of the age of the applicant and the 
  2.30  identity of the parent, guardian, or employer; and 
  2.31     (6) has paid the fee required in section 171.06, 
  2.32  subdivision 2. 
  2.33     (b) The instruction permit is valid for one year from the 
  2.34  date of application and may be renewed upon payment of a fee 
  2.35  equal to the fee for issuance of an instruction permit under 
  2.36  section 171.06, subdivision 2.