School boards; driver education behind-the-wheel training to be offered before or after school.
HB2213 amends Virginia’s driver education law to expand and standardize what public school driver education programs must include, with a particular focus on behind-the-wheel training and parent/student involvement. The bill requires instruction on alcohol and drug abuse, aggressive and distracted driving, speeding, motorcycle awareness, organ and tissue donation, fuel-efficient driving, and traffic-stop procedures. It also adds a minimum 90-minute parent/student driver education component to the classroom portion of the curriculum, with exemptions for students who are 18 or older, emancipated minors, and certain unaccompanied minors.
The bill further directs that the parent/student component be offered in person in Planning District 8 and may be offered in person or online elsewhere, with parent participation required in Planning District 8 but only encouraged outside that district. It also requires any driver education program to include a minimum number of miles driven during behind-the-wheel training and strongly encourages school boards to offer behind-the-wheel instruction before or after school, including on weekends. School boards may continue to decide whether to offer driver education at all, but if they do, they must comply with the standardized state program to receive state driver education funding.
HB2213 also affects how driver education is financed and delivered. It authorizes school boards, with Board of Education approval, to assess a surcharge to recover costs beyond state aid, while allowing fee waivers for students who cannot pay. The bill preserves the ability of school divisions to use correspondence courses for classroom instruction and allows behind-the-wheel training to be provided by public schools, licensed driver training schools, or approved homeschool arrangements, while clarifying that school divisions are not required to provide behind-the-wheel training to nonpublic school students.
The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly positive and noncontroversial. It advanced through subcommittee, full committee, the House, and the Senate with unanimous or near-unanimous votes, indicating broad bipartisan support. The bill’s emphasis on teen driver safety, parental engagement, and expanded access to behind-the-wheel training likely contributed to its favorable reception.
The main point of distinction in the bill is geographic: Planning District 8 is treated differently from the rest of the state, with mandatory in-person parent/student participation and required parent involvement there, while other areas may use online delivery and do not require parent attendance. Another practical area of interest is the bill’s encouragement of after-school and weekend behind-the-wheel instruction, which appears aimed at improving access and scheduling flexibility rather than imposing a mandate on every school division.
HB2213 amends Code of Virginia § 22.1-205 governing public school driver education programs. It expands required curriculum content, adds a statewide minimum parent/student instructional component, imposes a minimum behind-the-wheel mileage requirement, and authorizes additional cost recovery through surcharges subject to Board of Education approval. It also preserves local discretion over whether to offer driver education, but ties eligibility for state driver education funds to compliance with state standards and related provisions. The bill affects school boards, students, parents or guardians, driver training schools, and the Board of Education, with special procedural requirements in Planning District 8.
The bill’s legislative path shows overwhelming support, with unanimous votes in subcommittee, committee, and floor action in both chambers. There is no indication of significant opposition in the available record. The tone of the bill is policy-oriented and safety-focused, emphasizing teen driver preparedness, parental involvement, and access to practical training.
The most notable policy distinction is the special treatment of Planning District 8, where the parent/student component must be in-person and parent participation is required unless the student is exempt. Outside that district, the same component may be online and parent participation is encouraged rather than mandatory. A secondary area of potential concern is implementation burden: school divisions may need to adjust scheduling, staffing, and facilities to provide behind-the-wheel training before or after school or on weekends, and some may seek surcharge authority to cover costs. However, the voting record suggests these issues did not generate meaningful legislative conflict.