TEEN PROGRAM PROCEDURE

To be eligible to earn their driver’s license before they turn 18, teens residing in Illinois must complete a 30-hour classroom course as well as a Behind-the-Wheel (BTW) range course. The BTW course must be a minimum of eight hours of driving instruction, or six hours of driving instruction with an additional six hours of observation of driving lessons (partnered with a teen student or observing any teen BTW lesson). Teens are eligible for classroom instruction if the class program ends after the student turns 15 years of age.

Students enrolled in classroom + BTW instruction will be eligible to take the Illinois Written Exam (to earn a Class D Permit) after the fourth day of class. The following documents must be turned in before the conclusion of a complete program, or certification will not be sent to the Secretary of State:

·          This completed Registration/Agreement Form

·          Driver’s Education Approval Form (Or, as a substitute, acceptable school transcripts, detailing a year’s worth of grades/GPA)

·          Copy of the Instruction Permit

·          Behind-The-Wheel Only Students (BTW-Only) will, in addition to the above documents, also need to provide proof of completion of the Classroom Driver’s Ed Portion (Final Grade and Date of Class) or certification will not be sent to the Secretary of State. If the students are interested in the Teen Road Evaluation, this proof must also show a letter grade of A or B.

 

After completion of their BTW Program, students must wait for a certificate from the Secretary of State, sent via postage mail, before they may visit the DMV to take road test (if they are eligible, as detailed below).

Nova Driving School sends a teen student’s completion certification of Driver’s Ed to the Secretary of State when the following criteria is met:

·          The teen has completed all required classroom and in-vehicle training.

·          All required documents are submitted to Nova

·          To obtain a Class D Illinois Driver’s License, a teen must meet the previous two criteria, in addition to:

o    be at least 16 years of age

o    have held an Instruction Permit for at least 9 months

o    has fulfilled the 50-hour log sheet with at least 50 hours of additional BTW practice recorded.

 

These Driver’s Education requirements are meant to satisfy only the requirements listed by the Illinois Secretary of State. Parents who wish to transfer completion records to other States must note that that process is completely at the discretion of that state’s Secretary of State.

 

CLASSROOM-ONLY POLICY: Nova offers a classroom-only programs for teen students. Permit application forms will not be issued for students who are not enrolled in any BTW program. These students will receive a permit from the driving school or high school who will be responsible for their range instruction, and must request a certificate of classroom completion following the last day of class, in order to transfer to another school or fulfill a school’s academic requirements.

 

ABSENCE/MAKEUP POLICY: A maximum of four absences are allowed throughout the teen classroom program. Missed classes or missing work must be made up before the conclusion of the program – public self-study makeup sessions are held at regular intervals throughout the year, with the schedule shared in-class. Missing the fifth class will result in your teen being dropped from the program. You may re-enroll in another class for a $60 re-enrollment fee, provided that your credit is still valid.

 

TARDINESS POLICY: Students who are more than 5 minutes late to class may be marked tardy, at the instructor’s discretion. More than three tardies will result in an additional absence marked for the third instance. Students who arrive more than 15 minutes late after class start can also be marked as absent, at instructor discretion. Instructors also have the discretion to close the class after 15 minutes, with any students arriving after needing to return home and schedule a makeup. If a student is tardy but is allowed to attend and completed all required assignments that day, a makeup session is not required.

 

CLASS RE-ENROLLMENT FEE: A $60 classroom re-enrollment fee will be assessed at NDS’ discretion for teen students changing enrollment to a different class schedule, under the following conditions (provided the credit is still valid, per “VALIDITY AND TRANSFER”):

·          Students who wish to change class schedules. Switching between multiple classes to fulfill a driver education course is not allowed – switching to a new course will result in the teen student beginning again from Day 1.  Students may be transferred to a class once, without fee, if both classes have not held their 3^rd class session yet.

·          Students who fail to reach a passing grade after a month of class end, after exhausting any make-up attempts to complete missing or failing work, and must re-enroll to begin the course again.

·          Students who exceed the absence limit and are dropped from their classroom program, and must re-enroll to begin the course again.

 

INDEPENDENT CLASSROOM SESSIONS: Privately arranged classes by the parent must be canceled at least 48 hours in advance via phone call only (no emails/voicemails). Last-minute cancellations or no-shows for independent classroom sessions are subject to a $90/2-hour fee.

 

SCHEDULING TEEN BEHIND-THE-WHEEL (BTW) LESSONS: Your teen may start their BTW Lessons if their program is paid in full, and completed copies of the Instruction Permit, School Approval Form, and this Agreement form turned in to the Nova office. BTW Lessons will not be scheduled until all the above criteria is met. Note that for BTW-only students, proof of classroom driver’s ed completion is also required.

CANCELLATION NOTICE FOR DRIVING LESSONS: All cancellations of driving lessons must be made at least 24 hours in advance of the lesson’s start time. Students who do not cancel their lessons at least 24 hours in advance will be charged a $60 cancellation fee per lesson scheduled. Cancellations can be made via the student’s NDS account portal, or by speaking directly to a member of the office in-person or over the phone. Text messages, emails, voicemails left for Nova staff, or any communication with the driving instructor, are not sufficient notice and will not be accepted as cancellation notifications. Should a student request to end a lesson early, the remaining lesson time will be considered forfeit, and additional hours can be purchased.

 

Instructors will wait a maximum of 15 minutes for the student to arrive for the lesson. If the student does not show up within this time frame, the instructor will cancel the lesson with a no-show fee of $60 per lesson scheduled. Lessons will still end at the scheduled time, even if the student arrives late.

 

INSTRUCTION PERMIT: Students must have a valid driver’s instruction permit (original, no copies) with them any time they intend to drive a vehicle. If a student does not have their permit with them on a lesson day, the lesson will be cancelled, and a $60 rescheduling fee will apply.

 

OBSERVATION LESSON POLICY: Students registered for six hours of BTW / six hours of observation may either complete the program with a declared student partner, or by observing any eligible BTW lesson at a Nova location. Eligible lessons include only those with a teen student driver, with a maximum of two observers.

 

Declared partners will complete the program is six 2-hour lessons, in which students take turns driving and observing. Both students must adhere to all policies. If one student fails to either arrive on time, lacks a permit or proper footwear, or violates any other policy, the lesson will be cancelled, and the $60 fee charged to the offending student and parent.

 

Students who do not have partners will instead complete four 1.5-hour observations and four 1.5-hour lessons. Students may only observe other teen students’ 1.5-hour lessons. Students attending observation-only lessons must still follow policies needed for driving (“INSTRUCTION PERMIT” and “FOOTWEAR POLICY”). Observation students must arrive early prior to their scheduled observation. If a student driver and instructor are present on time, they will begin the lesson, with or without the observer, requiring a tardy observer to reschedule. The observer student and parent will not owe a re-scheduling fee, but all observation lessons must be completed in order to complete driver education. Students who are removed as an observer due to misconduct or improper behavior will need to reschedule the entire observation lesson and, at Nova’s discretion, be charged a $60 rescheduling fee, for the other student driver’s inconvenience.

 

Parents and students who do not wish to fulfill the observation requirements may purchase an additional 2-hour lesson to replace the observation hours. Partially complete observation hours do not count towards the 2-hour lesson and cannot be refunded in any way.

 

FOOTWEAR POLICY: Students may not wear sandals, Crocs, or open-toed shoes of any kind during driving lessons. Shoes must cover both the toes and the heels of the student. No high heels of any kind are permitted during Behind-the-Wheel lessons. If the student fails to meet these requirements, the lesson(s) will be recorded as cancelled, and a $60 cancellation fee will be incurred.

• be under 18 years of age (at time of testing and at time of receiving the driver’s license)
• have an active, unexpired, permit.
• have proof of completion of the classroom program with at least a letter grade of B (or numerical equivalent)
• completed range hours behind-the-whee
• (If a new student) proof of classroom/driving completion, and copy permit, is required
• have not taken the road test at another school or DMV facility

Students who qualify and register for the Road Evaluation at Nova must schedule their tests at least 48 hours in advance. The test is administered in a Nova vehicle with a certified instructor of Nova’s choosing – the student cannot choose their examiner, nor can an instructor who provided insturction be asked to administer the road exam.

ROAD TEST (RT) AT SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE: For those enrolled in the Road Test service, NDS will assist students in scheduling the RT appointment at the Secretary of State DMV. DMV appointments are available on a first-come first-serve basis, fluctuate depending on DMV staff coverage, and can only be scheduled on the morning of the test. Students should be ready to receive a call or text message confirming the time of their appointment that morning, before leaving their home (unless they have a scheduled practice on that day). NDS is not responsible if an appointment cannot be secured on any given day but rescheduling for a different date will be offered free of charge. Students should wait at home until NDS staff contacts them with an appointment time. Transportation to and/or from the DMV is not offered by NDS – it is the student’s responsibility to make it to the DMV in a timely manner. Students should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to their appointment time, so that, if possible, a practice run of the test can be offered, at the instructor’s discretion. Students who want guaranteed time to practice at the DMV may purchase an additional 1 or 2 hours of instruction. Note that at the time of this form revision, all DMVs require masks for the in-car road exam.

 

Two hours are allotted, from the time of the appointment, to wait for and take the road test. Any additional time spent at the Secretary of State due to tardiness or other factors, including the need to resolve documentation, eligibility, or license issues will be charged at a rate of $55/hour. It is the student’s responsibility to bring all necessary documentation to obtain an Illinois Driver’s License, and NDS is not responsible for a student’s inadequate paperwork. In addition to the documents needed for the road exam, parents must also complete and provide to their teen an Affidavit/Permission for Minor to Drive form, which requires notarization and parent signature. If the parent will be present with the student at the DMV, the Affidavit will not be required. Students can choose to reschedule the RT for another day to resolve any issues preventing them from taking the test that day, but they will owe Nova a $60 late rescheduling fee.

OTHER POLICIES

LESSON FEEDBACK POLICY: We strive to provide each student with the best possible experience. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of your lessons, we want to hear about it. Please contact Nova and let us know right away, as each in-car lesson’s video recording is only available for review for 30 days. If you contact us more than 30 days after the lesson in question, we will not have any access to the in-car video recording.

 

STUDENT CONDUCT: NDS instructors and staff reserve the right to cancel/stop a driving lesson or remove a student from class, if a student fails to follow our Behind-The-Wheel and classroom policies, including but not limited to: not carrying an Instruction Permit, not wearing proper closed-toe footwear, hygiene, cell phone use and not setting them to silent/off, misconduct or improper/dangerous behavior, and refusal to comply with warnings about said behavior. Lessons will also be cancelled if the student is found to be unfit for driving, such as being under the influence (DUI), or drowsy.

 

Students repeatedly removed from lessons or classes due to repeated violation of this policy will be dropped from the program. The student will not owe a cancellation fee but will not receive a refund for the lesson or course, as it will otherwise be considered fulfilled.

 

REFUNDS AND OTHER FEES: All payments are final, and Nova Driving School will not refund any fee or portion of any payments, so long as NDS and its staff/instructors are capable and willing to perform their part of this service agreement. This includes but is not limited to classroom/BTW program tuition, cancellation fees, processing fees, or any payment method charge. All debit/credit payment transactions are subject to a 4% processing fee. Voluntary downgrades of programs, such as asking for Nova location pickup during a home pickup program or using teen classroom credit for an adult classroom program, are not eligible for a refund.

VALIDITY AND TRANSFER: Complete program and Classroom-only students will have 9 months from the start of their classroom course to complete both their classroom and driving requirements for Driver’s Education. After these 9 months, your credit will expire and will be non-refundable. Your teen student will have to re-register and begin the program again.

All other Program Credit is valid for 9 months from the purchase date. When the 9-month period is over, the credit will expire and will be non-refundable. This credit is transferable to other students before it expires. If for any reason, your teen is dropped from a class and needs to re-enroll in another one, there is a $60 reenrollment fee, if the teen is re-enrolled before the credit expiry date.

NOVA DRIVING SCHOOL VIDEO AND SOUND RECORDING RELEASE AND CONSENT: By enrolling your teen in a program at Nova Driving School, you (the parent/legal guardian/responsible adult) are irrevocably giving consent to the Nova Driving School, its officers, agents, employees, successors, licensees, and assigns to use your teen’s image, likeness, appearance, video or sound recordings for your teen’s safety and quality control purposes. The video and sound recordings may also be used for any educational, training, promotional, advertising, or informational purposes, but never for any commercial use. Nova Driving School will only share the image, likeness, appearance, video and sound recordings with its agents, employees, successors, licensees, and assigns. All rights, title and interest in the image, likeness, appearance, video and sound recordings belong solely to Nova Driving School.

 

INTELECTUAL PROPERTY: All techniques and materials are the exclusive property of Nova Driving School (“NDS”). You agree not to disclose, sell, or distribute any information, written or spoken, obtained from NDS, to any third party.

CONFIDENTIALITY: NDS will not disclose, sell, or distribute any information obtained from a student, either written or spoken, with any third party, unless it is requested to do so by legal party or court order. The student 

agrees not to copy, reproduce, download, upload, post, display, broadcast, transmit, distribute, publish, republish, encode, translate or otherwise use any Materials or Marks provided on this website in any form, by any means, in any medium, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the express written permission of NDS.

WEBSITE: Both NovaDrivingSchool.com and NovaDriving.com make use of marketing pixels. All trademarks, service marks, logos, model and brand names, emblems, and protectable trade dress elements, whether explicitly marked or not, (individually and collectively, “Marks”) used on this website are owned by NDS or joint partners or are used with permission. All Marks are subject to U.S. (federal and state) and international trademark, unfair competition laws, and other intellectual property laws.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION: All disputes under Administrative Driving Code, Title 92, Chap. II, Part 1060.80 shall be directed to the Illinois Secretary of State Office.

RELEASE AND WAIVER OF LIABILITY: The teen student and parent/guardian, upon signing up for the Teen Road Evaluation (cooperative driver testing program), agree to the following State release/waiver:

1. Pursuant to 92 Illinois Administrative Code 1060.82(e)(3) the undersigned hereby release, waive and covenant not to sue the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office and all of its officials and employees, (collectively the “Released Parties”), from any and all liability and claims (including but not limited to claims of negligence, claims of negligence of the Released Parties, claims arising out of or in any way related to any act of the Released Parties and/or claims arising out of or in any way related to any failure to act by the Released Parties), actions, causes of action, demands, rights, damages (including, but not limited to, consequential, incidental, compensatory, punitive and/or exemplary), debts, accounts, attorney’s fees, costs, liens, dues, expenses and compensation of all kinds, known and unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, which may arise out of or be related in any way to taking a driving skills test administered by the undersigned or an employee or contractor of the same, including without limitation any act, or failure to act, by the Released Parties. I understand the inherent dangers (including injury and death) associated with driving and waive any and all specific notice of the existence of such dangers. 

2. I hereby assume all risks in any way growing out of, arising out of or in any way relating to my participation in taking a driving skills test. I assume these risks, whether known or unknown.

 

3. This release and waiver of liability represents the complete understanding between the Illinois  Secretary of State’s Office and the undersigned regarding the liability arising from the administration of a driving skills test and no oral representations, statements or inducements have been made apart from this document. If any provisions herein are held to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from the other provisions and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. 

4. I understand that I am not being allowed to participate in taking a driving skills test for any other purpose except for that explicitly identified herein.

AGREEMENT: You (parent) have signed your son/daughter up for the Teen Driver’s Ed Program at Nova Driving School (“NDS”), to prepare them for obtaining an Illinois Driver’s License.

NDS may, at its own discretion, change course schedules and locations and, on rare occasions, cancel a course if there is not a minimum of 7 students enrolled. You understand that course size is limited and therefore enrollment is taken on a first come, first-serve basis. NDS may dismiss any student who has not paid tuition, in full, in accordance with our tuition policies.

By Signing up with Nova Driving School, I certify that I have read the entire Teen Student and Parent Terms and Conditions Form (available upon request or online at https://www.novadriving.com), and myself and my son/daughter agree to the policies, terms, and conditions detailed within (including the ones detailed on the back of this agreement form) I hereby enroll my son/daughter in NDS’ Teen Driver’s Education Program. authorize my son/daughter to attend NDS’ classroom instruction and to provide my son/daughter with supervised, practical behind the wheel instruction in automobiles owned or leased by them on city streets and state highways as they deem appropriate for the purposes of driver’s education. I also authorize my son/daughter to schedule lessons on their behalf if I am not able to. I understand I may retain a copy of these forms for my records, may ask for additional copies, and can view the Terms & Conditions on the NDS Website at any time. This document contains all policies that Nova Driving School, its staff, and its students, are held to, and no verbal assurances or promises made by Nova or the student shall be binding. Fees and other policies are subject to change without notice.

• Four-day course for a Taxi Unrestricted Public Chauffeur License for the City of Chicago.
  
• One-day course for a Livery Restriced Public Chauffeur License for the City of Chicago.
  

• Be at least 21 years of age by the time you apply for the license. 
  
• Possess an active, permanent, driver’s license which is in good standing. The driver’s license must be issued by the State of Illinois or other U.S. State for a minimum of one year prior to application date*. A copy of your Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) will be required to detail your last year of driving history.
  
  • A temporary driver’s license or TVDL does not meet MCC requirements for a public chauffeur license and will not be accepted as proof of an active, permanent, driver’s license. 
    
  • The Driver’s License must be unrestricted, allowing the student to drive in any area of the city at all times during the day/night
    
• National/FBI/State level criminal background check. The Fingerprint receipt of the background check must be completed and submitted to the BACP office within 30 days from date of fingerprinting. The results of the criminal background check are good for 6 months from date of fingerprinting*.
  
  • Refer to MCC 9-104 for specific criminal history or driving history, including DUIs, which may disqualify an applicant. 
    
• Complete and pass the full NDS 24-hour Chauffeur Course within 6 months of the date of application, and present the certificates earned from that course to the BACP office.*
  
• City of Chicago Department of Finance debt clearance or authorized payment plan dated within 60 days from the date of application.(requires an affidavit to be completed and emailed, and for a reply to be sent from the City)