New Law Allows Iowa Parents to Certify Driver’s Education

(Des Moines, IA) — A new Iowa law that goes into effect today (Thursday) lets the parents of teenagers certify they’ve taught their child to drive, so the teen can take the tests to get a driver’s license. Homeschooling parents like Republican Representative Joel Fry of Osceola have had this authority for the past decade and this extends it to all Iowa parents. Fry said, “I can tell you the amount of time that I spent with that child in driver’s education far outweighs the amount of time I went through driver’s education in the school system.” Under previous law, teenagers in public and private schools had to pass a driver’s ed class in their school or a commercial driving school — or complete the D-O-T’s online course before taking the written and driving tests for a driver’s license. Any Iowa parent with a valid driver’s license can now certify they’ve covered that material and completed behind-the-wheel training with their child.