June 29, 1994
Julia M. Shovelin Gaston County Schools
P.O. Box 1397 Gastonia, NC 28053
Re: Advisory Opinion; Local School Board’s Authority to Require that Driver Education Instructors Be Certified to Teach Driver Education by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction; N. C. Gen. Stat. § 20-88.1; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-215
Dear Ms. Shovelin:
In a letter dated June 2, 1994, you requested an advisory opinion on whether the Gaston County Board of Education had the authority to include in its requests for proposals for driver education instructors the requirement that the instructors be certified (licensed) to teach driver education by the State Board of Education. It is our opinion that local boards have the authority to include such requirements in their requests for proposals.
In 1991, the General Assembly amended the statutes governing driver education. Among those amendments was N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-88.1(b1) which provides:
The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to permit local boards of education to enter contracts with public or private entities to provide a program of driver education at public high schools. All driver education instructors shall meet the requirements established by the State Board of Education; provided, however, driver education instructors shall not be required to hold teacher certificates.
Consistent with this amendment to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-88.1(b), the General Assembly also amended N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-215 to provide that driver education courses shall be taught by instructors "who meet the requirements established by the State Board of Education. Instructors shall not be required to hold teacher certificates."
It is our opinion that these statutes reflect the General Assembly’s intent to provide local boards the flexibility to contract with independent driver education instructors subject to the State Board’s authority to set minimum qualifications for instructors. In light of that intent, it is our opinion that the provisions that driver education instructors shall not be required to hold teacher certificates were intended to be limitations on the State Board’s regulatory authority, not local board’s contractual authority.
This opinion is supported by the fact that under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-88.1(b) local boards may continue to employ driver education instructors who hold teacher certificates, provided they are paid on the teacher salary schedule and work the same number of hours for a day’s pay as regular classroom teachers. Furthermore, there is nothing in these statutes which would prohibit a local board from requiring persons who contract to provide driver education to have the same qualifications that the State Board requires for issuing a teacher certificate.
Therefore, it is our opinion that the General Assembly intended only to prohibit the State Board
from requiring local boards to contract with persons who hold teacher certificates. Those provisions were not intended to limit a local board’s authority to require driver education instructors to meet higher standards, including possession of a certificate to teach drivers education.
Andrew A. Vanore, Jr. Chief Deputy Attorney General
Edwin M. Speas, Jr.
Senior Deputy Attorney General
Thomas J. Ziko Special Deputy Attorney General