504/IEP
If your child has a 504 or IEP, please disclose that to your driver’s ed teacher. Driver education is the black sheep of the education system. We do not have access to your student’s record, since we do not work for the school district. We are going out there on the road basically blind to the learning style of your kiddo unless you clue us in.
We want to be supportive, and are big fans of individual learning, but we do not have a crystal ball. I personally ask for information regarding learning style on my permission slip. I ask again when I ask parents to send an email on the first day to let me know about their kiddo. I am very clear that I am open to any kind of communication at any time, often hanging out chatting with parents in the parking lot before/after driving hours. I send progress report emails, and respond frequently to texts. I let everyone know I also am certified as a school counselor with a background in psychology and teaching. I do not know how to be more clear that I want to know how to support your student.
In spite of all of this I still get emails the night before the final exam finally disclosing IEP’s or 504 plans, and asking for help. I want to help, I really do. How can I be of proper help the night before the final exam? If you’re reading this, thinking, “Oh boy, she’s writing about me!” You’re not the only one. This has happened on multiple occasions, which is why I’m writing this. Please don’t wait until the night before the final exam. If you had let us know earlier, I could have talked to your student, and come up with a plan that suited everyone, or encouraged them through the process better. I could have quizzed them more in the car as we drove around, or talked about effective studying styles that suit their individual learning style. Without the knowledge that there is an issue, I cannot do much at the eleventh hour, which makes me about as sad and frustrated as the student must have been struggling through the whole class without the proper support.
Some traditional accommodations cannot be honored in the driver education class. We, (driver’s ed teachers,) cannot allow extra time for a test, as the DMV will not. Also, traffic will not allow you extra time to process what is going on out on the road. The only accommodation the DMV will make in our state is to do the final exam orally, so we can try to accommodate that option for you. But still, if we know that your kiddo has a hard time with a certain something, we can try to help. Please, please let us know. We are not being nosy, we will not gossip about them, and we have no judgment. We only want to help.
Sincerely, Driver’s Ed Teachers Everywhere.