School first, driving second

Gov. Bill Richardson outlines a new policy on drivers' licenses at Albuquerque's Sandia High School. (Photo by Barbara Armijo)

ALBUQUERQUE -- Parallel parking won't be the toughest part about getting a driver's license for some New Mexico teens.

Beginning next year, students who are eligible for their learner's permit at age 15 will have to prove they are proficient in reading and math in eighth grade and then when they move on to high school they must have at least a 90 percent attendance rate in ninth grade before they can get a driver's license, under one of six new initiatives announced by Gov. Bill Richardson and Education Secretary Veronica Garcia April 25.

Under the same rule, students who drop out before the driver's license eligibility age of 16 will have to wait a year to receive their driver's licenses. In New Mexico the legal dropout age is 18. Teens are eligible for a learner's permit at age 15 if they are enrolled in a driver's education class. The learner's permit is good for six months, and they get a provisional license for a year after that before they are given a full license.

While Richardson's driver's license plan has the backing of Albuquerque Public Schools Interim Superintendent Linda Sink and several key legislators, including state Rep. Rick Miera, an Albuquerque Democrat and chairman of the Legislative Education Committee, some of the details have yet to be worked out with Motor Vehicle Division Director Ken Ortiz.

"We're one year out from implementation, and all the details will be worked out with the PED and the state as far as regulations go," he told the Independent. "But I think this is a bold and great idea that will improve education."

Richardson said he and Education Secretary Veronica Garcia have been developing "low-cost" ways to improve education. Having driver's licenses tied to education was just one of the new plans. The others are:

• Offering elective credit for students who undertake environmental protection community projects
• Creating a Public Education Department electronic teacher encyclopedia of exemplary math and science lessons
• Bringing in math and science expert teachers from Asia and the Pacific Rim to set up the most effective teaching practices in New Mexico
• Providing Parents College -- seminars on weekends or evenings for parents who need help with the hands-on strategies for helping their children succeed in school. The seminars will be videotaped and put on the PED's Web site for sustained parental support and made accessible to principals, teachers, parents and students statewide as a renewable training resource.
• Starting an Exemplary Educators Network, a board made up of the state's award-winning teachers to help shape the state's education policy development and best practices.  

"We have to continue making investments in our kids, but we have to come up with innovative ways to do that," Richardson said, unveiling the plans at Sandia High School. "By making driving a privilege tied to education is one way we have addressed both an improving education and curbing the dropout rate."

Under the plan:

• Eighth-grade students will need to demonstrate "nearing proficiency or proficiency and beyond" on their New Mexico Standards Based Assessment tests, and as ninth graders, they will have to have at least a 90 percent attendance rate in school to be eligible for a New Mexico driver's license.
• Failure to attain either benchmark will result in a six-month delay in eligibility for a license.
• Failure to meet both benchmarks will result in a one-year delay.
• Dropping out of school before the age of 16 also will mean students must wait a year to get a driver's license.

print Share

Register or log in to rate