Schechter School of Long Island cancels driver's education course, upsetting parents
The Schechter School of Long Island recently canceled a driver's education course, upsetting some parents. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Teenagers enrolled in a driver's education course through the Schechter School of Long Island will not receive the state certificates of completion needed for early licenses, dealing a blow to the students and leaving parents with unanswered questions.
The Williston Park school recently announced that it had terminated its contract with the company hired to run the course. Students would not be receiving the state certificates, called the MV-285, because "aspects of the program were not confirmed to be compliant with state regulations,” school spokesman Gary Lewi said in a statement. The school did not elaborate and did not identify the company.
State Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Tim O'Brien said the school contracted with the Long Island Driving School to offer the required behind-the-wheel instruction in its driver's education course. He said the DMV and the state Education Department, which is responsible for overseeing driver and traffic safety education courses, are investigating complaints "originating" with the Schechter School.
Rachel Connors, a spokeswoman with the Education Department, said in an email that education officials are working to obtain more information. The Schechter School was approved to operate the driver's education program, she said.
High schools authorized to run the program, developed under the state Department of Health's Driver Education Research and Innovation Center Project, are tasked with contracting with "DMV-approved instructional providers." Under the guidelines, school administrators or staff members are required to verify that students have met all the requirements before submitting their names to the DMV for the certificates, according to Connors.
The Long Island Driving School declined to comment, referring all questions to Schechter.
Summer plan concerns
Students who are 17 can move from a junior driver's license to the standard class D license, which does not have restrictions, if they pass the driver's education course and submit the MV-285, according to the DMV. Without the course, they cannot obtain a class D license until they turn 18.
It was not clear how many students were affected. Schechter has started to refund parents for the $950 course and apologized to the impacted families.
“All potential solutions are being pursued in recognition that the loss of certification at this late date has the potential to impact the summer plans of students and their families," it said.
But several parents said they were frustrated by the decision.
“This is a breach of contract. Our children fulfilled their obligation but they’re not getting what they were promised,” said Margaret Garte, of Garden City.
Garte said her 16-year-old son learned of the issue on his last scheduled day of the course on June 29. He turns 17 in November, she said.
Parents said they were concerned their children would not have the time to retake the intensive course, which requires 24 hours of classroom instruction. Students must also undergo 24 hours of in-vehicle instruction, including a minimum of six hours driving, six hours in-car observation and "12 hours of any combination thereof," according to the state Education Department.
Garte said her son enrolled in the Schechter program, held in June, because he will be away attending a pre-college course in July before starting a lifeguarding job in August. She said her son completed in-class assignments and homework, as well as behind-the-wheel instruction.
For the school to say that time "doesn’t count is completely outrageous. That’s the crux of the problem for us,” said Garte, an attorney.
Pete Doherty, also of Garden City, said he was disappointed to learn the time spent completing the course will not count toward his 16-year-old son's driver's license and questioned whether the driving school was properly vetted.
"My first reaction is one of disappointment and frustration," Doherty said.
He added, “Where I haven't gotten any dialogue yet is what's the state's involvement and who made the determination that it was non-compliant? What was non-compliant, and are there any solutions to consider, other than just re-enroll at a later date?"
Lorena Mongelli has been reporting for Newsday since 2021. Prior to that, she covered breaking news at the New York Post.
