He made the announcement at the Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center (CTC) in Springfield with Emily Davidson, executive director of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, through the Creating Opportunities for Driver Education (CODE) grant program.
“The awards will open doors for thousands of students to get the training they need for a lifetime of safe and confident driving. A big part of improving driving training in Ohio is to improve access and capacity,” Wilson said.
“For years the demand for teen driver training has been greater than what our schools can provide, “ he said.
The $4,626,000 was awarded to 34 Educational Service Centers, school districts, career technical schools and private businesses, including the Springfield-Clark CTC. Most are in locations where there are few existing driver training schools.
ODPS has three priorities to help improve driver training, including strengthening the content of the education, making it accessible so more students have opportunities to attend, and increasing the capacity of the system to train more students.
Davidson said, “We’ve received an outpouring of interest in the CODE grants ... We estimate that these funds will open or expand services in over 100 locations throughout the state.”
The recipients can use funding to cover the cost of training instructors, instructor salaries, online education and some administrative costs.
CTC Superintendent Michelle Patrick said, “The number one reason our students do not obtain a job, even while here learning a skilled trade, is because they can’t afford a license.”
She said the grant will remove that barrier “so that these young people can obtain a license and can rise up out of being economically disadvantaged over the long haul.”
CTC has 26 students who are on track to receive their license at the end of this school year and eight who have already completed it, with a total of 258 hours of behind the wheel training with one instructor.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Student Jazmin Davila Lopez has completed her training and is scheduled to take her test next week.
“I feel way more confident because I know the maneuverability. I was a bit stressed, but my instructor really gave me encouragement,” she said. “I just really hope students get this opportunity because my sister, she’s been practicing on practice tests but I think if she’d taken this class, she might feel more confident in taking her permit test in the future.”
The funds will allow CTC to offset the salary of the instructor, provide more vehicles for the community that can be placed at different school districts, offset retrofitting of the vehicles, and cover some training of new instructors.
Patrick said this will allow them to expand driver training at the CTC and in each of the seven local school districts served by the CTC.
“This is bigger than a driver’s license for Clark County ... It allows them to move from day to day ready, to truly be able to see what career ready, college ready and life ready can mean for our students,” she said. “... This is game-changing.”
State law requires 16- and 17-year-olds take driver training to get licenses. That includes 24 hours of classroom instruction and eight hours of behind the wheel training with a licensed instructor. They must also complete 50 hours of in-car training with a parent or guardian. Teens must complete all of the requirements before taking the permit test.
Those over the age of 18 are not required to take driver’s education training before taking a test.
Wilson said recent research shows new drivers under the age of 18 who complete driver education are less likely to crash than those who don’t take it. Drivers licensed at 18 who don’t take driver education also had the highest crash rates in the first year of licensure of any Ohioans licensed under age of 25.
“The difference in these crash rates clearly points to the value of driver education and training,” he said. “One of the best ways that we can improve safety on our roads for all Ohio motorists is to ensure that new drivers have access or the ability to attend high quality driver’s education.”
One barrier is the number of driving schools and the limited capacity in those schools, causing many teens to wait weeks or months for the in-car portion.
“In other parts of the state, students must travel quite a distance to just to reach the nearest driver training school,” Davidson said.
Helping teens get their license also has potential benefits to Ohio’s workforce, “which is why career technical schools, specifically Springfield-Clark, play an important role in the process of the CODE grant program,” Davidson said.
She said many businesses struggle to hire entry-level and part-time workers.
“But a 16- or 17-year-old with a driver’s license has a chance to get those jobs if they can get to those jobs or take on an internship or apprenticeship in a skilled trade,” Davidson said. “Driver’s ed programs are the foundation to success in reducing traffic crashes and fatalities and also setting teens up for successful future as a member of the workforce.”
The seven area schools that received funding are:
Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center, Clark County: $165,550.17
Champion City Drivers Ed, Clark County: $317,980
Schwartz Driving School (Madison-Champaign), Champaign County: $265,026.67
Schwartz Driving School, Logan County: $203,133.33
Indian Lake Local Schools, Logan County: $63,694
Montgomery County Educational Service Center, Montgomery County: $304,120
National Trail Local Schools, Tri-County North Local Schools and Twin Valley Community Local Schools, all Preble County: $63,694 each.
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