Driver License Process at FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driving practice that is required is 45 hours, minimum, with 15 being at night.

OP -- your original post seemed to suggest you thought it was 40 hours of practice with 10 being at night. That is wrong.

45 hours required (and you should do more)... and 15 at night.

It’s possible (often preferable) to schedule Behind the Wheel sessions before kid has completed the “required” 45/15.

But those hours don’t count towards the 45.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driving practice that is required is 45 hours, minimum, with 15 being at night.

OP -- your original post seemed to suggest you thought it was 40 hours of practice with 10 being at night. That is wrong.

45 hours required (and you should do more)... and 15 at night.

It’s possible (often preferable) to schedule Behind the Wheel sessions before kid has completed the “required” 45/15.

But those hours don’t count towards the 45.

I’ve had two instructors from two driving schools tell me that they do. They could both have been wrong, but who would know anyway, and clearly they wouldn’t have challenged it it I’d put it on the log.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks again for all the super helpful responses.

This thread has more useful info than 100+ FCPS webpages and presentations on this topic!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driving practice that is required is 45 hours, minimum, with 15 being at night.

OP -- your original post seemed to suggest you thought it was 40 hours of practice with 10 being at night. That is wrong.

45 hours required (and you should do more)... and 15 at night.

It’s possible (often preferable) to schedule Behind the Wheel sessions before kid has completed the “required” 45/15.

But those hours don’t count towards the 45.

I’ve had two instructors from two driving schools tell me that they do. They could both have been wrong, but who would know anyway, and clearly they wouldn’t have challenged it it I’d put it on the log.

The last session is the test for license. How can the instructor sign off on that if the kid still has 10-15 hours left?

Or they don’t care and parents don’t either and teens continue to be not ready for the privilege and make stupid driving decisions like the accident last month.

[Anonymous]

Who do people recommend for Behind the Wheel in Alexandria part of FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driving practice that is required is 45 hours, minimum, with 15 being at night.

OP -- your original post seemed to suggest you thought it was 40 hours of practice with 10 being at night. That is wrong.

45 hours required (and you should do more)... and 15 at night.

It’s possible (often preferable) to schedule Behind the Wheel sessions before kid has completed the “required” 45/15.

But those hours don’t count towards the 45.

I’ve had two instructors from two driving schools tell me that they do. They could both have been wrong, but who would know anyway, and clearly they wouldn’t have challenged it it I’d put it on the log.

The last session is the test for license. How can the instructor sign off on that if the kid still has 10-15 hours left?

Or they don’t care and parents don’t either and teens continue to be not ready for the privilege and make stupid driving decisions like the accident last month.

The way it was explained to me was that if there were still hours outstanding when the student completes BTW and takes the road test, the driving school holds onto the paperwork until you provide a completed log showing all 45 hours. Then they’ll give your kid the temporary license.

[Anonymous]

I Drive Smart does not care about your log. They'll pass competent drivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driving practice that is required is 45 hours, minimum, with 15 being at night.

OP -- your original post seemed to suggest you thought it was 40 hours of practice with 10 being at night. That is wrong.

45 hours required (and you should do more)... and 15 at night.

It’s possible (often preferable) to schedule Behind the Wheel sessions before kid has completed the “required” 45/15.

But those hours don’t count towards the 45.

I’ve had two instructors from two driving schools tell me that they do. They could both have been wrong, but who would know anyway, and clearly they wouldn’t have challenged it it I’d put it on the log.

The last session is the test for license. How can the instructor sign off on that if the kid still has 10-15 hours left?

Or they don’t care and parents don’t either and teens continue to be not ready for the privilege and make stupid driving decisions like the accident last month.

The way it was explained to me was that if there were still hours outstanding when the student completes BTW and takes the road test, the driving school holds onto the paperwork until you provide a completed log showing all 45 hours. Then they’ll give your kid the temporary license.

Makes sense. We didn’t do behind the wheel until we finished 45 hours.

[Anonymous]

I still don't really get this process.

DS is over 15 and 6 months and just got his learners permit. We are logging his hours and know he needs a minimum of 45 hours of driving with 15 hours at night.

Now what? Does the school automatically enroll him in the class for the correct semester? What is this "pink slip"? How do you know about this parent class? And when/how do you sign up for behind the wheel? Does is coincide with when you are eligible to actually get the license (9 months after getting a permit)? Is there then another trip to the DMV to get the actual license?

I feel like this is WAY more confusing than it was in my state in the 90s!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still don't really get this process.

DS is over 15 and 6 months and just got his learners permit. We are logging his hours and know he needs a minimum of 45 hours of driving with 15 hours at night.

Now what? Does the school automatically enroll him in the class for the correct semester? What is this "pink slip"? How do you know about this parent class? And when/how do you sign up for behind the wheel? Does is coincide with when you are eligible to actually get the license (9 months after getting a permit)? Is there then another trip to the DMV to get the actual license?

I feel like this is WAY more confusing than it was in my state in the 90s!

Yes automatically in drivers ed with PE class. The completion of that and parent session gets the pink slip

They will advertise the parent/child class. It’s usually once per semester, maybe more and you can go to any of them.

Behind the wheel when they have been driving for awhile and are close to the license time. My kids did it in the last few weeks before they were eligible. But some kids do it before and then continue practicing. Either way they aren’t a license driver until that date of eligibility.

No trip to DMV. Behind the wheel instructor gives temp license and permanent comes in the mail.

[Anonymous]

So they can get the drivers license from the behind the wheel instructor even if they aren't quite to the 9 months of holding the learners permit? But then it's not an active license until they are at the date of 9 months after having the learners permit. That makes sense.

The timing of all this seems tricky.

Thanks for the clarification, though!

[Anonymous]

The BTW instructors prefer you to finish the hours previously. They really don't want to teach your kid to drive from scratch, they would rather the parents do the heavy lifting (understandably).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So they can get the drivers license from the behind the wheel instructor even if they aren't quite to the 9 months of holding the learners permit? But then it's not an active license until they are at the date of 9 months after having the learners permit. That makes sense.

The timing of all this seems tricky.

Thanks for the clarification, though!

Yes if they pass the test. And the date on the paper says their eligibility date. It’s signed by you also and you get the paper so they don’t get their license until it’s time and you hand it over.

It’s always taken us the whole time to get enough hours so my kids were done by the time they did behind the wheel and took the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think what was confusing about the OP post was the fact that their child does not have their learners permit yet but already took drivers Ed in HS and completed the Partners in Safe teen driving with parent and received pink slip. I’m not sure how every FCPS HS incorporates Drivers Ed but ours typically does not schedule you in the class until you are close to 16 th birthday. A good majority Of the kids(not all) already have their permit while taking drivers Ed and complete their 45/15 driving practice as well as taking the 90 min PSTD with parent class get pink slip. All by the time Drivers Ed finished. They then do their Behind the Wheel and get the license after passing the BHTW test. One important rule many do not realize is that you have to hold your driving permit for at least 9 months before being able to get you license.

Driver Ed class and then learner's permit is the order that many students do it, especially if they take HPE10 in the summer before 10th grade. DD actually took and passed the class and got her pink card while she was still 14 since she didn't turn 15 until after the first day of 10th grade. Then when she was closer to 16 she got her permit and started getting her hours. There is no right or wrong order and lots of kids do it differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has a very confusing process. You don't have to do all the steps in a specified order. My DS has a very late summer birthday and took the classroom portion of Driver's Ed BEFORE he was old enough to take the permit test.

To get a license you need to complete:
Permit Test
Hours driving with a parent
Classroom driver's ed (taken during PE if you're in FCPS)
Partners for Teen Safe Driving presentation - offered during the evenings at various FCPS high schools
Behind the Wheel - can take it through ACE (FCPS Adult Community Education) or a private company like I Drive Smart

The earliest you can take your permit test is at 15 years and 6 months. The earliest you can get your license is 16 years and 3 months. You need to have your permit for a minimum of 9 months.

Thank you so much!

Why cant FCPS put this in such a simple direct way? I was going through the pages of stuff and pdf's and it is like filling a jigsaw puzzle.

I wish they just listed this out in logical order like you did.

Thank you!!

They explain it in school when the students take Driver’s Ed - so your DC should have learned that. You can also look it up on the state DMV website. It isn’t FCPS responsibility to make sure kids get their licenses.

Count your lucky stars they have made it simpler.
Prior to COVID, the student would get a provisional license after Behind the Wheel (if they passed) and get a postcard in the mail three months later with a court date and they and a guardian had to go the courthouse to listen to a judge tell them to act responsibly. Then the judge gave the license to the guardian and said it was up to the guardian to give it to the student or not. If you couldn’t make the court date, they would give you another date a month or two after that. A couple hundred kids and their guardians would be in the room together and you had to wait until your student’s name was called.