The Foreign Service Journal, June 2007

100 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 7 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT driver’s education classes, available in book form and online, for stu- dents in all 50 states. In Minnesota, the course is available in book form for homeschooled students only. After passing driver’s education, the minimum age for getting a permit and the required permit holding time before you can take a road test vary depending on the state. If a teen can’t take driver’s educa- tion online, there are some other options. During the summer, some high schools offer driver’s education programs. Although certain require- ments need to be met, Fairfax County’s public school system offers a summer driver’s education pro- gram and behind-the-wheel training for high school students (www.fcps. edu/DIS/OACE/DriversEd.htm). Colleges such as Indiana State University (www.indstate.edu/driver/ teen_drivered.htm) and Cecil Com- munity College in Maryland (www. cecilcc.edu/programs/special-pro- grams/youth-education/drivers-edu- cation.asp) also offer driver’s educa- tion courses. These classes usually include classroom as well as hands- on instruction. The AAA also offers hands-on driver training programs (www.aaamidatlantic.com/automo- tive/aaadriving/default.asp). Parent Involvement Is Key Parental involvement in teen- agers’ attempts to learn how to drive is very important. According to a 2005 SADD/Liberty Mutual study, “Teen drivers who report high levels of parental attention are significantly more likely than those who report low levels of parental attention to say they never speed (45 percent to 14 percent).” The study also found that these teens were more likely to wear seat belts and less likely to drive while impaired. Of course, after your teenager learns to drive, whether in the U.S. or abroad, he or she is going to start asking for a car or want to borrow one from you. But that’s another story. n If a teen can’t take driver’s education online, there are some other options — some high schools offer driver’s education programs.