OXNARD : District to Halt Driver’s Training
Trustees of the Oxnard Union High School District voted Wednesday to eliminate driver’s training at the district’s six schools.
The district was forced to cut the program because of a 1992 state court decision prohibiting public schools from charging fees for behind-the-wheel driver’s training. Students, who paid $130 for a 16-hour course offered by the district’s adult education program, will now have to use private companies to get the required training for a license.
Before the 5-0 vote, board members said they were looking into ways to reinstate the program, either through district funding or pushing for state legislation to restore the program.
About 400 students in the 11,000-student district took the course last year, the last full year of the program, Assistant Supt. Gary Davis said. Because the program was taught at school, it was convenient for students, and Davis said he fears that youngsters won’t even bother to take the training.
The district recently spent $130,000 for a driving simulator and four new cars and was “breaking even” with the course, Davis said.
The final session of the district’s driver training program ends Friday. The classroom portion of the driver’s education program will continue.
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