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Wake County reports uneven driver education wait‑time improvements; DPI training gaps flagged
Summary
Wake County Schools said some behind‑the‑wheel wait times improved in parts of the district after contracting supplemental driving instructors, but the district flagged statewide constraints in instructor certification and declining DPI staffing as ongoing risks.
Wake County Schools staff told the Student Achievement Committee that behind‑the‑wheel wait times for high school driver's education have shown reductions in parts of the district but remain uneven, with some western-area schools still reporting long waits.
Devin Tanner (driver education staff) and district leaders said the district contracted two supplemental driving-school providers in addition to its primary partner, Jordan Driving School, which helped reduce wait times in some regions. Tanner said Jordan Driving School currently has about 69 instructors assigned to the district; the district has lost a small number of instructors in the past year and continues to recruit.
District staff warned of broader state‑level constraints: the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) previously supported a statewide instructor-certification path that has been curtailed while DPI staffing and program capacity were reduced. Tanner said private driving schools and Jordan Driving School are currently among the few organizations able to run the DMV-certified instructor course, and that DPI’s capacity to provide centralized training has decreased substantially.
Staff told the committee they will return to the board in May or June with more detailed data and with contract renewal materials; the district said the current contract with Jordan Driving School is in its third year and will be up for renewal. Board members raised questions about state certification rules and whether other private providers or program funding options might expand instructor capacity.
"There have been some reductions in the overall wait time," a driver education presenter said, but added that those improvements have not been uniform across the district and that the state training pipeline remains a constraint.
