Driving School of North Texas Driving Education in McKinney FAQ's

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

* CLASSROOM AND DRIVING POLICIES
* WHAT DO I BRING TO CLASS?
* HOW DO I GET MY LEARNER'S PERMIT?
* WHAT IS A TEA/VOE FORM?
* WHAT ARE THE CLASSROOMS LIKE?
* WHAT FORMS OF PAYMENT ARE ACCEPTED?
* IF THE WEATHER IS BAD, DO WE STILL DRIVE?
* WHAT IS A GRADUATED LICENSE?
* WHAT IS THE GRADING POLICY?

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CLASSROOM AND DRIVING POLICIES:

CLASSROOM (32 Hours)
Each class and driving time is 2 hours long. Classroom hours will be at the same time each day. Depending on the schedule you choose, you will participate in a 3 week class Monday-Friday and one Saturday morning on the third week. Or if you take a fall class, you will attend a 4 week class Monday-Thursday.

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DRIVING (7 hrs Driving, 7 hrs Observation In-Car)
You will have 7 lessons, 2 hours per lesson. Drive times will be scheduled 1 drive per week outside of classroom time, and will be set according to the student's convenience.

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CANCELING DRIVE TIMES:
If you need to change or cancel a drive time you must notify our office (no emails please). Drive times for Tuesday - Saturday must be cancelled 24 hours in advance. Sunday, Monday or holiday drive times must be cancelled the previous business day. Example. Sunday drives must be cancelled the previous Friday by 9:00 am.

PASS/FAIL POLICY (In Car)
It is our responsibility to ensure that every student has mastered the basic skills before receiving their DE certificate.. Some students require more practice time than others. It is also the parent's responsibility to work with their student to help them improve. A student will not pass his or her lesson #7 driving test if;

	The Instructor needs to grab the steering wheel
	The Instructor needs to use the instructor brake
	If the student commits a moving violation

Examples: Speeding
Running Stop Sign

If the student fails their driving test, they must retest,

Retesting Lesson #7 Driving Test

Parents may choose to work with their student to further develop the driving skills before retesting

-- Or--

	Parent may choose to purchase additional drive times from the school.
	In either case, DSNT will retest the student. Any cost associated with retesting will be the decision of the school director. If a parent has NOT worked with their student, the parent will be required to purchase another driving lesson for the test.

CLASS MAKE-UP
A student may miss a total of 5 days of class without being dropped from the course (this is a Texas law, not ours.) Each missed class must be made-up. There are two options for make-ups.

Option 1: A student misses day 6 of 16. They can make up day 6 when the next scheduled class begins. You can visit our Make Up Classes page for a list of make up dates and times.

Option 2: The student may come in at their convenience to review the lesson they missed and complete a packet of worksheets.

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CONTRACT EXPIRATION DATE
Each student has 180 days (6 months) to complete the entire course. This includes the classroom phase, make-up lessons and behind-the-wheel phase. The 180 day start date will be from the first day of class. (Again, this is a Texas Education Agency rule.)

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WHAT DO I BRING TO CLASS?

* Pen and paper (Everyday!)
* Course payment
* Arrive 20 minutes early on first day to complete paperwork if you haven't done so already

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HOW DO I GET MY LEARNER'S PERMIT?

Learner's Permit--also known as an Instruction Permit. Once you complete the first 6 hours of classroom training (the first 3 days) and are between the ages of 15-18, you are qualified to apply for your Learner's Permit. For a fee of $30.00 we can do all the legwork for you.

* We will give the written test in class instead of you waiting in line to do this at the DPS.
* We will perform the vision test in our office.
* We will notarize the application for you.
* We will take all paperwork to the DPS to process your student's Instruction Permit.

In order of us to obtain your student's Permit, you will need to turn in the following by day 3:

* Your student's birth certificate (original or certified copy only) or US passport or Resident Alien Card
* Social Security Card-Original
* Student School ID-Original
* TEA/VOE form (Texas Education Agency/Verification of Enrollment) This is the 90-day form the DPS needs to ensure your student has been enrolled in school for the last 90 days.

For us to process the permits through the DPS, the DPS requires us to keep the birth certificate and social security card until the permit is processed. This takes approximately 24-48 hours. The documents will be returned to you with the permit.

We take great care of the original documents. Once we receive them, they are placed in an individual folder for that student and are hand delivered to the administrator at DPS.

If your student wears glasses or contacts, they will need to wear them for the eye exam.

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WHAT IS A TEA/VOE FORM?

A TEA/VOE form is obtained from the school where your student is enrolled (usually at the front office.) The form provides documentation to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) of the student's enrollment and attendance status. A student must be enrolled in school before they are allowed to receive an Instruction Permit.

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WHAT ARE THE CLASSROOMS LIKE?

Our classroom is designed to give the student a fun and relaxing environment. State of the art equipment ensures that they receive up-to-date training.

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WHAT FORMS OF PAYMENT ARE ACCEPTED?

MasterCard, Visa, and Personal Checks. You may pay in full, but if you prefer to make several payments, you can divide the cost in 1, 2 or 3 payments during the classroom portion. The first payment and contract need to be turned in by the Friday before the first class begins. Subsequent payments are due on the following Monday classes.

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IF THE WEATHER IS BAD, DO WE STILL DRIVE?

We will drive in all types of weather except sleet, ice and snow and very hard rain.

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WHAT IS A GRADUATED LICENSE?

See the MORE INFORMATION Page

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WHAT IS THE GRADING POLICY?

Appropriate standards shall be implemented to ascertain the progress of the students. Progress standards shall meet the requirements of the currently adopted state curriculum guide.

Mastery is a prerequisite to awarding a grade of 70 or above. Evidence of mastery shall be determined by one or more of the following methods:

1) Unit Tests
2) Class Participation
3) Written Assignments
4) Student Notebook
5) Skills Performance Checklist
6) Comprehensive Examinations of Knowledge & Skills

The progress evaluation record shall reflect whether the student is making satisfactory progress to the point of being able to complete all subject matter within the allotted time provided in the currently approved course curriculum for driver's education.
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