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District

Summer Driver’s Ed

Summer Driver's Education Announcements

Thank you for your interest in our classes.
Please see the registration schedule and information below.

Registration for Houston County Schools students will begin on March 4th.
County students are students enrolled in one of the following schools:
Ashford High School, Cottonwood High School, Houston County High School, Rehobeth High School, Wicksburg High School, and the Houston County Virtual Academy.

The remaining available spots will open to Non-County students on Tuesday, April 2nd.
Non-county students are students enrolled in:
a different school district (such as Dothan City Schools), a private school (ex: BCA, ECS, HA, NMA, PCS, etc.), or are homeschooled.

 

 

PLEASE READ THE RED PARAGRAPH BELOW TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE DRIVER'S ED CLASS AND OUR HCCA CAMPUS:
We understand that there is a great need for Driver’s Education in our area, unfortunately, there is no way that we as just one school can accommodate every student in our Wiregrass area that need it. The Houston County Career Academy is the Career Technical Center for the Houston County School System.  This is where students in the HCS system come to take hands-on educational classes such as Health Science, Automotive, Engineering, etc. for two class periods of their school day. We are not a driving school.  During the school year, driver’s education is taught on the campus of our 5 main base schools (Ashford, Cottonwood, Houston County, Rehobeth, and Wicksburg) as a class on the students' schedules.  The county chooses to offer driver’s education classes during the summer at our office location in order to serve their students and parents with a more central location for all that may need it. 

The driver’s education classes offered on our campus are offered first to our county students in order to accommodate as many of our students as possible that may not have had the opportunity in their schedule during the school year to take the class.  Once our county students have been given time to register, the county then opens up registration to all other students in the Wiregrass area, whether they go to a private school, are in another school system, or are homeschooled. The registration process takes place in our main office during normal school days while we not only have students on campus but also possibly other visitors from our central office.

Driver’s Ed takes a lot of manpower, and we are grateful to all those who extend such grace, patience, and understanding with us during the registration process. While we wish that we could accommodate everyone in this area, please understand we are just one school as a host location and our resources are limited. Between an instructor shortage AND our building having many other meetings and obligations occurring during the summer semester outside of driver education, it just isn’t feasible.  Thank you again for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing you at registration this year!

REGISTRATION DATES

  • Registration for remaining spots will open up to the public on Tuesday April 2nd during our normal school operating hours, 7:30 am - 3:30 pm. 
  • These classes usually fill up within a few hours of opening, and we anticipate that same result this year.
  • Please make plans to arrive early in order to give yourself the best opportunity to reserve a spot.
  • See the information below regarding how to register for our classes. 

 

DRIVER'S ED CLASS DATES

  • Week 1: June 3, 4, 5, & 6 – Full
  • Week 2: June 10, 11, 12, & 13 –  Full
  • Week 3: June 17, 18, 20, & 24 (due to Juneteenth holiday) – 15 spots remaining
  • Week 4: July 8, 9, 10, 11 – 13 spots remaining
  • Week 5: July 15, 16, 17, & 18 – 14 spots remaining
  • Week 6: July 22, 23, 24, & 25 – 19 spots remaining

*All classes require the above classroom days, as well as driving days. The driving days will be scheduled by your child's instructor after the class starts. 

 

 

Registration Information

  • Registration must be done in person at the HCCA front office. NO EXCEPTIONS! Our office hours are 7:30-3:30 Monday-Thursday and 7:30-2:45 on Fridays. 
  • Registration forms may only be obtained from the HCCA front office at the time of registration. We cannot send forms by email or pass out forms prior to the day of registering. We NEVER post our forms online and cannot accept one that came from anywhere other than our office.  
  • You MUST sign the Parent Permission form at the time of registration in order for your child's registration to be processed.  This permission form is now an included page with the registration pack you will receive from our office.
  • The registration fee for Non-County Students is $200 and is due at the time of registration. A Non-County student is one that is not a registered student in the Houston County Schools system. This fee can only be paid by CASH or CHECKS. We are unable to process debit/credit payments. If paying by check, please make it out to HCCA. 
  • A copy of your child's driving permit is also required for registering for the class. It MUST be on file with our office in order for your child to participate in the driver's education program, and your registration is not complete without it. If your child does not turn 15 until May, you can still turn in the registration form, permission slip, and payment to temporarily reserve a slot. After your child receives their permit you can bring it by our office or you may email a clear, close-up picture of it to jernigan.shalane@hcboe.us.

Class Information

 

  • Students will meet at HCCA the first 4 days of the class from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm. Once the initial classroom days are completed, students will only be required to return to campus 2-3 days during the remainder of the month. These days are considered "driving days" and will be assigned by the instructor by the end of the fifth classroom day.
  • Classroom days by session:
    • Week 1 – June 3, 4, 5, & 6
    • Week 2 – June 10, 11, 12, & 13
    • Week 3 – June 17, 18, 20, & 24
    • Week 4 – July 8, 9, 10, & 11
    • Week 5 – July 15, 16, 17, & 18
    • Weeo 6 – July 22, 23, 24, & 25
  • Students are responsible for making arrangements for/or bringing lunch/snack each day.

 

Student Driver logo

Gold Card Information

  • Students no longer receive a paper gold card, as the state has adapted an online/virtual gold card instead. 
  • If/when the driver skills test is passed, the student can either go online to renew their license or go to the State Trooper's office. However, it will have to be on a week day and may take 24-48 hours AFTER the student's birthday for the information to be updated into the system. This simply means that, due to the new online system, most students are not recognized by the state to receive their driver's license until the day after their 16th birthday, or that their information will still show a "y" restriction. In order to receive their license, the "y" restriction will need to be removed by the state.
  • Steps to see if the "y" restriction is lifted and license is ready to print (or system is up to date at the Trooper's office):
    • Go to alea.gov
    • Click "Renew License"
    • Enter all information and submit
    • Make sure "y" restriction is gone
    • If "y" restriction is gone, then the system is up to date, and you can print your new dirver's license OR go to the State Trooper's office to get it. HOWEVER, if the "y" restriction is still listed, their system has not been updated and it may take 24-48 hours to be lifted, so keep checking.