Driver's ed program bill killed in Senate by Jaimi Reimer A bill mandating driver�s ed for all students died in the Senate Jan. 28 after making it out of committee this week.
The Senate defeated, 13-21, SB 3 on Jan. 28. The bill would have required schools to offer driver�s education. Students would not have been required to take the class, however, a permanent operator�s license couldn�t be obtained until they either took the class or turned 18.
Sen. Keith Paisley, R-Sioux Falls, opposed the bill because it eliminated parental involvement.
�Some of the most valuable time I had with my kids growing up was teaching them how to drive,� he said. �This bill dismisses parents from the whole composition.�
Paisley said the state gives parents who home-school the right to teach their children literature, math and physics, yet they could not teach those children to drive under this bill.
Sen. Eric Bogue, R-Dupree, said money the bill would have provided may not have been enough to cover the cost of the class.
�There�s no guarantee that schools can get it done for $150 per student,� he said.
If the driver�s ed class cost over $150 per student to run, schools would have been able to charge students for the class to make up the difference.
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