Students Would Benefit From High School Driver’s Ed Course

Daishalys Sanchez, Staff Reporter
March 3, 2022

Should SHHS Teach A Drivers Ed Class

As of 2022, there is only one place in South Hadley where students can take drivers ed, Falls Driving School. An estimate of their prices range around $160-800, and many people can’t afford that. This is why the South Hadley High School should teach the 30 hours that are required for a permit.

The only requirement for it to be legit, would be for the teacher to be a certified driving instructor. And to be a driving instructor in Massachusetts, the person would need to complete a 65 hour Driving Instructor Training Course, given by an approved driving school whose DITC curriculum is approved and on file with the DMV.The student would still need to pay around $400-500 for the on roads, parent classes, and observations. But, at least you’re saving around $200, which might not be a crazy amount (but saving money is saving money).

Because of the lack of classrooms, there would be an issue; where would the class be taught? There are many teachers in this school who co-teach away from their classrooms for most of the day, so it can be taught there, in the classroom. The class would be half a semester, with around 30-40 students in each class.

Sophomore’s (who will turn 16 by the end of the elective), Juniors, and Seniors would be able to take the class.

And at the end of the semester, all the students will take a paper test with around 50 questions to show that they passed drivers ed/ know the basics of the road.(Which is a requirement)

Now, the student would be able to get their permit.

After taking the elective, if their parents are going to teach them how to drive, they don’t need to pay for those extra classes except for the 2 hour class which is required. So basically the student isn’t spending a lot of money that they possibly don’t have. And all the parent would need to pay for is the 2 hours class which they can pay on their own. It lasts 5 years. So it would be beneficial if they have more than one kid that would want to get their permit/ license aswell.

According to the requirements in Massachusetts, to obtain a license the person needs to: