MCA Chapter 25

in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-1 Declaration of purpose.

The aims and purposes of driver’s education and training shall be to develop a knowledge of those provisions of the Mississippi Code of 1972 and other laws of this state relating to the operation of motor vehicles, a proper acceptance of personal responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation of the causes, seriousness and consequences of traffic accidents, and the knowledge, attitudes, habits and skills necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-3 Establishment and maintenance of driver education and training program.

The school board of any school district maintaining a secondary school which includes any of the grades nine through twelve inclusive, may, in its discretion, establish and maintain driver education and training programs for pupils enrolled in the day secondary schools in that district.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-5 Promulgation of rules and regulations; contents of program; budget; administration of program.

The State Superintendent of Public Education shall prepare and recommend to the State Board of Education, and the board shall adopt rules and regulations governing the establishment, conduct and scope of driver education and training programs in secondary schools of this state, subject to the requirements and exceptions set forth in this chapter. Said program shall be established and maintained only in accordance with such rules and regulations. The state driver education and training program in secondary schools of this state shall include a program of study for alcohol and safety education as it pertains to driver and highway safety and shall also include instruction relating to organ and tissue donation and organ and tissue donation procedures, and shall include instruction on the litter laws of the state and the responsibilities of the driver and all passengers to dispose of litter in the proper container. The state driver education and training program in secondary schools of this state shall also include a program of study, developed by the Department of Public Safety under Section 37-25-29, on how persons should properly respond when stopped by law enforcement officers. The State Superintendent of Public Education shall prepare an administrative budget from funds made available under this chapter which budget shall be approved by the State Board of Education. It shall be the responsibility of the State Superintendent of Public Education to administer this program in accordance with rules and regulations established by the State Board of Education and to appoint the necessary supervisors of safety education and the necessary clerical personnel.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-7 Student eligibility for instruction; learners’ permits.

Each school district providing driver training and education shall prescribe regulations determining who can best profit by and who shall receive instruction under this program. It is provided, however, that any student receiving instruction under this chapter shall be: Fourteen years of age or above; A regularly enrolled student in the ninth, tenth, eleventh or twelfth grade; and A full-time student in the respective secondary school. Any driver education student under fifteen (15) years of age shall secure a learner’s permit issued by the Department of Public Safety which shall be valid only while the student is under the direct supervision of a driver education instructor and is actually enrolled in an approved course of driver education which consists of thirty (30) hours of classroom and six (6) hours of dual driving instruction. The learner’s permit shall expire at the end of the driver training course. The Department of Public Safety shall charge a fee of One Dollar ($1.00) for the issuance of a learner’s permit.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-9 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 2011, ch. 442, § 20, effective from and after July 1, 2011. § 37-25-9 . [Codes, 1942, § 6232-75; Laws, 1962, ch. 341, § 5, eff from and after passage (approved May 26, 1962).] Editor’s Notes — Former § 37-25-9 required school districts to report annually to the superintendent of education the cost of providing and the number of students enrolled in driver education courses during the preceding year.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-11 Determination of cost of program.

A determination of the cost of a driver education and training program in a secondary school shall include, but by no means is limited to, the cost of the replacement of the automobile or machinery used in the instruction of pupils, the cost of the instructor’s salary, the upkeep and maintenance of said automobile, and the cost of such other equipment and classroom data as may be required in a driver education and training program operated in compliance with the rules and regulations of the state board of education.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-13 Allowances to districts for program.

The state superintendent of public education shall allow to each school district an amount per pupil to be determined by the state board of education, but in no case to exceed the actual cost per pupil completing the course in the driver education and training programs in that school district during the preceding fiscal year in accordance with the regulations set forth by the state board of education to the school districts for instructing pupils in driver education and training. All such funds made available for the purposes of this section shall be appropriated by the legislature in the same manner as general funds. In the event that the funds herein authorized by the legislature for the support of driver education shall exceed the funds which actually become available, each participating school district shall have its funds reduced on a pro rata basis. No allowance shall be made under this section for the instruction of pupils in driver education and training unless the respective school district has complied with the rules and regulations as set forth by the state board of education governing the establishment, conduct and scope of driver education and training.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-15 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1990, ch. 329, § 3, eff from and after October 1, 1990. § 37-25-15 . [Codes, 1942, § 6232-79; Laws, 1962, ch. 341, § 9] Editor’s Notes — Former § 37-25-15 provided for assessments for driver education and training programs.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-17 Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund.

Such assessments as are collected under subsections (1) and (2) of Section 99-19-73 shall be deposited in the Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund, which fund is hereby created, to be used exclusively as provided in this chapter.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-19 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1990, ch. 329, § 3, eff from and after October 1, 1990. § 37-25-19 . [Codes, 1942, § 6232-81; Laws, 1962, ch. 341, § 11; Laws, 1985, ch. 470, § 2] Editor’s Notes — Former § 37-25-19 related to deposit of bail to cover penalty assessment.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-21 Waiver of driver training penalty assessment.

In any case where any person, convicted of any violation punishable by fine and the levy of the penalty assessment specified in this chapter, is imprisoned until the fine is satisfied, the judge may waive all or any part of the penalty assessment where, in his opinion, the payment of said penalty assessment would work a hardship on the person convicted or his immediate family.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-23 Purchase of necessary equipment, aids and devices and materials; effect of repeal of statutory authority to purchase liability insurance.

In addition to and supplementary of all other powers authorized by law, the State Board of Education is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations deemed necessary to carry out the legislative intent of Chapter 341, Laws of the 1962 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature, being Sections 37-25-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972. The State Board of Education is authorized to purchase for cash or by lease-purchase agreement all the necessary equipment, visual and training aids and devices, and related materials required to administer this act, upon competitive public bids as required by law for public purchases. The repeal of Chapter 387, Laws of 1968, authorizing the purchase of liability insurance upon driver training aids and devices and motor vehicles transporting the same, shall not affect any litigation or prosecutions pending on June 30, 1970, or prevent the filing of any litigation or commencement of any action accruing prior to said date.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-25 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 2011, ch. 442, § 20, effective from and after July 1, 2011. § 37-25-25 . [Codes, 1942, § 6232-84; Laws, 1960, ch. 341, § 14; Laws, 1970, ch. 362, § 1, eff from and after July 1, 1970.] Editor’s Notes — Former § 37-25-25 required an annual report of funds provided for and expended under authority of chapter.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-27 Payment of funds expended under chapter.

Funds expended under authority of this chapter shall be paid by the state treasurer out of the driver training penalty assessment fund or other funds used in administering this chapter, upon warrants issued by the state auditor of public accounts. The said auditor shall issue his warrant upon requisition signed by the proper person, officer or officers in the manner provided by law.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-29 Driver education program to include instruction in how a person should properly respond when stopped by law enforcement officers; curriculum to include drivers’ constitutional rights.

The Department of Public Safety shall develop a program of study on how persons should properly respond when stopped by law enforcement officers to be taught to students as part of the state driver education and training program and as part of a driver education program taught to students attending nonpublic schools. Any program developed by the Department of Public Safety under this section shall incorporate in that curriculum the constitutional rights that drivers have when encountering a law enforcement officer, including, but not limited to, consent to search and refusal to provide information not pertinent to the traffic stop.