SECTION 595:11-5-4. Requirements for certification as a certified school; display of certificate; certification renewal

(a)   Requirements and application for certification. A school district or technology center school may apply for certification as a certified school. The applying school shall meet the following requirements:

(1)   Be actively enrolling students and teaching a formal course of instruction for school bus drivers training as approved by the State Board of Education or truck driver training as approved by the Oklahoma Board of Career and Technology Education.

(2)   Obtain and possess written approval to make application for and be, if approved, a certified school from:

(A)   the State Board of Education, if the school is a school district, or

(B)   the Oklahoma Board of Career and Technology Education, if the school is a technology center.

(3)   Submit an application to the Department on a form prescribed by the Department [OAC 595:11-5-13].

(4)   Have its on-site examination route or routes examined and approved by an employee of the Department. A route:

(A)   shall start and end on the premises or property of the certified school, unless otherwise approved by the Department,

(B)   shall meet all state and federal requirements,

(C)   shall not be altered or changed in any manner without first being examined and approved by the Department,

(D)   shall not be replaced by an alternate route unless the alternate route is first examined and approved by the Department. If, during the course of the examination, it is determined that any of the approved routes could not be followed, the third-party examiner shall notify the Department in writing the same day the test is administered as to the reason for the change in route,

(E)   shall not be used to conduct training or practicing for the examination, and

(F)   shall be configured to be at least seventy-five percent (75%) different from any route used for training or practicing.

(5)   Agree to:

(A)   meet minimum examination standards required by the Department and by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations [49 C.F.R. Part 383];

(B)   allow access to school facilities by the Department and by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for the purpose of monitoring examinations and examining records;

(C)   comply with the Oklahoma Open Records Act [51 O.S., § 24a.1, et seq.] with regard to records kept pursuant to this Subchapter;

(D)   maintain security of examination documents and related material as deemed necessary by the Department;

(E)   ensure all examinations are administered by a third-party examiner;

(F)   ensure third-party examiners administer the examination only to driver license applicants who:

(i)   have enrolled in and successfully completed a formal course of instruction, as submitted to and approved by the Department, at the institution where the third-party examiner is employed and certified, and

(ii)   have a commercial learner permit and driver license issued by Oklahoma. The commercial learner permit must be issued at least fourteen (14) days prior to testing;

(G)   ensure no person acts as a third-party examiner without current certification from the Department;

(H)   provide immediate written notification to the Department of any impropriety or misconduct of any third-party examiner employed by the school;

(I)   acknowledge that the Department reserves the right to take prompt and appropriate remedial action against the certification of any school or of any third-party examiner in the event that the school or the third-party examiner fails to comply with:

(i)   any state law, Department rule, or federal regulation regarding the examination of an applicant for a commercial driver license, or

(ii)   any terms of the appropriate memorandum of understanding or of a subsequent contract or agreement entered into pursuant to the memorandum of understanding;

(J)   maintain records of all third-party examiners employed by the school and copies of all documents relating to examinations administered for a period of not less than three (3) years; provided, if a school discontinues doing business, the school shall send to the Department a roster of all students who were administered examinations by the school during the immediately preceding three (3) years;

(K)   immediately notify the Department by telephone, followed by written notification within five (5) days, of the termination of employment of any third-party examiner. The official seal of the Department, the CDL examiner's manual, and the certificate and identification card issued by the Department to the third-party examiner shall be returned to the Department with the written notification;

(L)   immediately notify the CDL Coordinator within the Commercial Driver License Program Administration of the Department by telephone or first-class mail of every fraudulent application made to obtain a commercial driver license; and

(M)   acknowledge that the Department reserves the right to randomly reexamine applicants tested by third-party examiners for purposes of quality assurance.

(b)   Certification. Upon acceptance and approval by the Department of the application for certification from a school district or technology center school, or upon acceptance and approval by the Department of the application for renewal of certification from a certified school, and upon completion to the satisfaction of the Department by the school of all other requirements for certification, the Department shall provide the certified school with a certificate evidencing approval by the Department as a certified school. The certificate shall be posted at the examination location at the certified school and in full view of the public. The certificate shall be valid for four (4) years.

(c)   Renewal of certification. A certified school may apply for renewal of certification as a certified school. The school shall meet the following requirements:

(1)   Have evidence on file with the Department of a satisfactory on-site inspection conducted by an employee of the Department prior to renewal.

(2)   Employ at least one third-party examiner.

(3)   Submit an application for renewal on a form prescribed by the Department no later than December 1 of the year of expiration [OAC 595:11-5-13].

[Source: Added at 26 Ok Reg 2749, eff 7-25-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 323, eff 11-3-09 through 7-14-10 (emergency); Amended at 27 Ok Reg 2704, eff 8-26-10; Amended at 32 Ok Reg 2228, eff 9-11-15; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 1943, eff 9-11-17; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 1944, eff 9-17-18]

Note

EDITOR’S NOTE: This emergency action expired before being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency amendatory action, the last effective permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-10 (after the 7-14-10 expiration of this emergency action), the text of 595:11-5-4 reverted back to the permanent text that became effective 7-25-09, as last published in the 2009 OAC Supplement, and remained as such until amended by permanent action on 8-26-10.