The Wilkes County School system supports the following legislation and will comply with all the components of the legislation by adopting it as a school board policy in compliance with the Lose Control, Lose Your License Legislation:
Effective July 1, 2000, the Lose Control, Lose Your License Legislation mandates the loss of driving privileges for students under the age of 18 who are given an 11-day or longer suspension and/or an assignment to the alternative learning program based upon disciplinary action.
All students from ages 14 to 18, or who are rising 8th graders on or after July 1, 2000, are subject to this legislation. Students who are 18 years old cannot be charged under this law; however, the year’s suspension can go beyond the student’s 18th birthday.
Wilkes County Schools will notify the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles to suspend a student’s permit or license for one year, or will not issue a Driving Eligibility Certificate to any student who is given expulsion/suspension or an assignment to the alternative learning program for more than 10 consecutive days for one of the following reasons:
- The possession or sale of an alcoholic beverage or an illegal controlled substance on school property.
- The possession or use on school property of a weapon or firearm that resulted in disciplinary action under G.S. 115C-391(d1) or that could have resulted in that disciplinary action if the conduct had occurred in a public school.
- The physical assault on a teacher or other school personnel on school property.
For purposes of this law, school property includes the physical premises of a school, school buses, or other vehicles under the school’s control or contract used to transport students, and school-sponsored or school-related activities that occur on or off the physical premises of the school.
A Status Form will be completed and filed in the student’s cumulative folder whenever a student has been reported to the Division of Motor Vehicles. This form must follow any subsequent enrollments in educational settings such as a community college or other public school system.
Driving privileges will be restored by issuing a Driving Eligibility Certificate to a student under one of the following three conditions:
- The enumerated student conduct occurred before the student reached age 15 and the student is now at least 16 years old.
- The enumerated student conduct occurred after the age of 15 and it is at least one year after the date of the ineligibility.
- A student with a Level 2 or 3 driver’s license has no other possible means of transportation available to drive to and from school or a drug or alcohol treatment counseling program. Students with access to a school bus, carpooling, or have a parent or relative who drives shall be denied the certificate. This determination will be made by the Hardship Review Committee that has been established under the Dropout Prevention/Driver’s License Legislation and if granted, Wilkes County Schools will convey to parents the extent of this driving privilege through the use of an Agreement Form.
Driving privileges may also be restored within a six-month period if the student displays exemplary behavior. The Hardship Review Committee may determine that a Driving Eligibility Certificate can be issued under the following:
- For non-drug-related suspensions - the student has returned to school or has been assigned to the alternative learning program and has displayed exemplary behavior.
- For drug-related suspensions - the student has returned to school or has been assigned to the alternative learning program, has successfully completed a drug or alcohol treatment counseling program, and has demonstrated exemplary behavior.
Exemplary student behavior is defined as the student having no further incidents of misconduct where expulsion, suspension, or assignment to the alternative learning program is required. Students found in violation of school policies that result in official disciplinary action (as documented on a PP8 form) would not qualify for having exemplary behavior.
The Driver Education Coordinator will notify the Division of Motor Vehicles of all students not meeting the criteria of this legislation. Once DMV is notified by Wilkes County Schools, a revocation letter is automatically generated and sent to the student.
Board of Education
Wilkes County, NC
Adopted: July 24, 2000
Legal Reference: Senate Bill 57