Washington Revised Code Title 28A. Common School Provisions § 28A.220.030. Traffic safety education section--Administration of traffic safety education program--Certification and endorsement of qualified teachers of driver training--Powers and duties of school officials--Administration of knowledge and driving portions of driver licensing examination

(1) The superintendent of public instruction is authorized to establish a section of traffic safety education, and through such section shall: Define appropriate course delivery standards required to provide an effective driver training education course, establish a level of driving competency required of each student to successfully complete the course, and ensure that an effective statewide program is implemented and sustained; administer, supervise, and develop the traffic safety education program; and assist local school districts and approved private schools in the conduct of their traffic safety education programs. The superintendent shall adopt necessary rules governing the operation and scope of the traffic safety education program; and each school district and approved private school shall submit a report to the superintendent on the condition of its traffic safety education program: PROVIDED, That the superintendent shall monitor the quality of the program and carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(4) The board of directors of a school district, or combination of school districts, may contract with any driver training school licensed under chapter 46.82 RCW to teach the behind-the-wheel instruction portion of the driver training education course. Instructors provided by any such contracting driver training school must be properly qualified teachers of driver training education under the joint qualification requirements adopted by the superintendent of public instruction and the director of licensing.

(5) Each school district or approved private school offering a traffic safety education program must maintain: (a) Documentation of each instructor's name and address and that establishes the instructor as a qualified teacher of driver training education as defined in RCW 28A.220.020; and (b) student records that include the student's name, address, and telephone number, the date of enrollment and all dates of instruction, the student's driver's instruction permit or driver's license number, the type of training received, the total number of hours of instruction, and the name of the instructor or instructors. These records must be maintained for three years following the completion of the instruction and are subject to inspection upon request of the department of licensing or the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent may adopt rules regarding the retention of additional documents that are subject to inspection by the department of licensing or the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(6) A driver training education course may not be offered by a school district or an approved private school to a student who is under the age of fifteen, and behind-the-wheel instruction may not be given by an instructor to a student in a motor vehicle unless the student possesses either a current and valid driver's instruction permit issued under RCW 46.20.055 or a current and valid driver's license.

(7) School districts that offer a driver training education course under this chapter may administer the portions of the driver licensing examination that test the applicant's knowledge of traffic laws and ability to safely operate a motor vehicle as authorized under RCW 46.20.120(7). The superintendent shall work with the department of licensing, in consultation with school districts that offer a traffic safety education program, to develop standards and requirements for administering each portion of the driver licensing examination that are comparable to the standards and requirements for driver training schools under RCW 46.82.450.

(8) Before a school district may provide a portion of the driver licensing examination, the school district must, after consultation with the superintendent, enter into an agreement with the department of licensing that sets forth an accountability and audit process that takes into account the unique nature of school district facilities and school hours and, at a minimum, contains provisions that: