CHAPTER 1.5. Traffic Violator Schools [11200. - 11223.]

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH 1.5.
in effect

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11200. Section 11200.

(a) The department shall license schools for traffic violators for purposes of Section 41501 or 42005 and to provide traffic safety instruction to other persons who elect to attend. A person may not own or operate a traffic violator school or, except as provided in Section 11206, give instruction for compensation in a traffic violator school without a currently valid license issued by the department. (b) (1) Any person who elects to attend a traffic violator school shall receive from the traffic violator school and shall sign a copy of the following consumer disclosure statement prior to the payment of the school fee and attending the school: “Course content is limited to traffic violator curricula approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Students in the classroom include traffic offenders, repeat traffic offenders, adults, and teenagers, and those who have and those who have not been referred by a court. Instructor training, business regulatory standards, and Vehicle Code requirements of traffic violator schools are not equal to the training, standards, and Vehicle Code requirements of licensed driving schools (California Vehicle Code Section 11200(b)(1)).” (2) In the case of a minor who elects to attend a traffic violator school, the minor’s parent or guardian shall sign the consumer disclosure statement. (3) A copy of each signed disclosure statement shall be retained by the traffic violator school for a minimum of 36 months. (c) New and modified departmental regulations necessitated by this section shall be adopted and effective no later than September 1, 2011. (d) A licensed traffic violator school shall notify the court by posting on the department’s Web-based database established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 11205 information regarding successful course completions. (e) A licensed traffic violator school shall give every person who attends the school for purposes of Sections 41501 or 42005, upon successful completion of the lesson plan and passage of the postlesson knowledge test, a receipt indicating successful completion. The receipt shall include contact information, including the name of the traffic violator school, address of the school’s business location, name of the course instructor if classroom-based, telephone number, e-mail address if appropriate, hours of operation, and any other information that may be used to confirm course completion. (f) This section shall become operative on September 1, 2011.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11202. Section 11202.

(a) A traffic violator school owner shall meet all of the following criteria before a license may be issued for the traffic violator school: (1) Maintain an established place of business in this state that is open to the public. An office or place of business of a traffic violator school, including any traffic violator school branch or classroom location, shall not be situated within 500 feet of any court of law or within 50 feet of another licensed traffic violator school. The office or place of business shall be a separate and enclosed space consisting of a minimum of 100 square feet and shall have a lockable entry door. (2) Be open to the public and maintain regular business hours Monday to Friday, inclusive, excluding state and federal holidays. The business hours shall be posted at the established place of business and on any internet website used or maintained by the traffic violator school. (3) Have an operator or employee in each office or place of business during regular business hours. (4) Have a name that does not include a cost, price, or amount of the traffic violator school course, unless that name accurately reflects the cost of the course. (5) Conform to standards established by regulation of the department. In adopting the standards, the department shall consider those practices and instructional programs that may reasonably foster the knowledge, skills, and judgment necessary for compliance with traffic laws. The department shall establish standards for each instructional modality, which may include requirements specific to each modality. The standards may include, but are not limited to, classroom facilities, school personnel, equipment, curriculum, procedures for the testing and evaluation of students, recordkeeping, and business practices. (6) Procure and file with the department a bond of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) executed by an admitted surety and conditioned upon the applicant not practicing fraud or making a fraudulent representation that will cause a monetary loss to a person taking instruction from the applicant or to the state or any local authority. (7) Have the proper equipment necessary for giving instruction to traffic violators. (8) Have a lesson plan approved by the department, and provide not less than the minimum instructional time specified in the approved plan. The approved plan shall include a postlesson knowledge test. The lesson plan for each instructional modality shall require separate approval by the department. (9) (A) Execute and file with the department an instrument designating the director as agent of the applicant for service of process, as provided in this paragraph, in any action commenced against the applicant arising out of a claim for damages suffered by a person due to the applicant’s violation of a provision of this code committed in relation to the specifications of the applicant’s traffic violator school or a condition of the bond required by paragraph (6). (B) The applicant shall stipulate in the instrument that a process directed to the applicant, when personal service cannot be made in this state after due diligence, may be served instead upon the director or, in the director’s absence from the department’s principal offices, upon an employee in charge of the office of the director, and that this substituted service is of the same effect as personal service on the applicant. The instrument shall further stipulate that the agency created by the designation shall continue during the period covered by the license issued pursuant to this section and so long thereafter as the applicant may be made to answer in damages for a violation of this code for which the surety may be made liable or a condition of the bond. (C) The instrument designating the director as agent for service of process shall be acknowledged by the applicant before a notary public. (D) If the director or an employee of the department, in lieu of the director, is served with a summons and complaint on behalf of the licensee, one copy of the summons and complaint shall be left with the director or in the director’s office in Sacramento or mailed to the office of the director in Sacramento. A fee of five dollars ($5) shall also be paid to the director or employee at the time of service of the copy of the summons and complaint, or shall be included with a summons and complaint served by mail. (E) The service on the director or department employee pursuant to this paragraph is sufficient service on the licensee if a notice of the service and a copy of the summons and complaint are, on the same day as the service or mailing of the summons and complaint, sent by registered mail by the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney to the licensee. A copy of the summons and complaint shall also be mailed by the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney to the surety on the licensee’s bond at the address of the surety given in the bond, postpaid and registered with request for return receipt. (F) The director shall keep a record of all processes served pursuant to this paragraph showing the day and hour of service, and shall retain the documents served in the department’s files. (G) If the licensee is served with process by service upon the director or a department employee in lieu of the director, the licensee has 30 days after that service within which to answer any complaint or other pleading filed in the cause. For purposes of venue, if the licensee is served with process by service upon the director or a department employee in lieu of the director, the service is considered to have been made upon the licensee in the county in which the licensee has or last had an established place of business. (10) (A) Meet the requirements of Section 11202.5, relating to traffic violator school operators, if the owner is also the operator of the traffic violator school. If the owner is not the operator of the traffic violator school, the owner shall designate an employee as operator who shall meet the requirements of Section 11202.5. (B) A person may be an operator for more than one traffic violator school if (i) the schools have a common owner or owners and (ii) the schools share a single established business address. (C) A traffic violator school with multiple branch locations may designate a separate licensed operator for each location, but shall designate one of the licensed operators as the primary contact for the department. (11) Have an instructor who meets the requirements of Section 11206. An owner who is designated as the operator for the school is authorized to act as an instructor without meeting the requirements of Section 11206. The owner license may also include authorization to act as an instructor if the owner is not designated as the operator but meets the requirements of Section 11206. The owner license shall specify if the owner is authorized to offer instruction. If the owner is not approved to act as an instructor, the school must employ an instructor licensed pursuant to Section 11206. (12) Provide the department with a written assurance that the school will comply with the applicable provisions of Subchapter II or III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), and any other federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Compliance may include providing sign language interpreters or other accommodations for students with disabilities. (b) The qualifying requirements specified in subdivision (a) shall be met within one year from the date of application for a license, or a new application and fee are required. (c) Paragraphs (6) and (9) of subdivision (a) do not apply to public schools or other public agencies, which shall also not be required to post a cash deposit pursuant to Section 11203. (d) Paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (10) of subdivision (a) do not apply to public schools or other public educational institutions. (e) A notice approved by the department shall be posted in every traffic violator school, branch, and classroom location, and prominently displayed on a home study or internet program, stating that any person involved in the offering of, or soliciting for, a completion certificate for attendance at a traffic violator school program in which the person does not attend or does not complete the minimum amount of instruction time may be guilty of violating Section 134 of the Penal Code. (f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2020.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11202.5. Section 11202.5.

(a) The department shall license traffic violator school operators. A person shall not act as a traffic violator school operator without a currently valid license issued by the department, unless the person is an owner/operator and is so designated on the owner’s license. Every person, in order to qualify as a traffic violator school operator, shall meet all of the following criteria in order to be issued a traffic violator school operator’s license: (1) Have not committed any act which, if the applicant were licensed as a traffic violator school operator, would be grounds for suspension or revocation of the license. (2) Within three attempts, pass an examination that the department requires on traffic laws, safe driving practices, operation of motor vehicles, teaching methods and techniques, traffic violator school statutes and regulations, and office procedures and recordkeeping. (3) Be 21 years of age or older. (4) Have successfully completed an educational program of not less than four hours. The program shall include, but is not limited to, operator responsibilities, current laws, and the regulations in Article 4 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations. The instruction may be provided by generally accredited educational institutions, private vocational schools, and education programs and seminars offered by professional societies, organizations, trade associations, and other educational and technical programs that meet the requirements of this section. (5) Provide a certification from the owner that the applicant has the knowledge necessary to perform the duties of the operator. (b) All the qualifying requirements specified in this section shall be met within one year from the date of application for the license or the application shall lapse. However, the applicant may thereafter submit a new application upon payment of the required fee.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11203. Section 11203.

In lieu of the bond otherwise required by paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 11202, the applicant may make a deposit pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 995.710) of Chapter 2 of Title 14 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The director may order the deposit returned at the expiration of three years from the date a traffic violator school licensee has ceased to do business, or three years from the date a licensee has ceased to be licensed, if the director is satisfied that there are no outstanding claims against the deposit. A superior court may, upon petition, order the return of the deposit prior to the expiration of three years upon evidence satisfactory to the court that there are no outstanding claims against the deposit. If either the director, department, or state is a defendant in any civil action instituted to recover all or any part of the deposit, or any civil action is instituted by the director, department, or state to determine those entitled to any part of the deposit, the director, department, or state shall be paid reasonable attorney fees and costs from the deposit. Costs shall include those administrative costs incurred in processing claims against the licensee recoverable from the deposit.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11203.5. Section 11203.5.

If the state or any of its political subdivisions suffers any loss or damage by reason of any fraudulent practice or representation or by reason of any violation of this division by a traffic violator school owner, the department may bring a cause of action against the traffic violator school owner and the surety upon the owner’s bond.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11204. Section 11204.

(a) The department shall issue a license certificate to each traffic violator school owner and each traffic violator school operator licensed pursuant to this chapter. The term of the license shall be for a period of one year from the date of issue unless canceled, suspended, or revoked by the department. The license shall be renewed annually. The department shall require compliance with Section 11202 for renewal of the license of a traffic violator school owner. The department shall require compliance with Section 11202.5 for renewal of the license of a traffic violator school operator. (b) (1) In lieu of the examination required by Section 11202.5 for renewal of the license of a traffic violator school operator, the department may accept submission of evidence by the licensee of continuing professional education. (2) “Professional education,” as used in paragraph (1), means the satisfactory completion of courses acceptable to the department related to traffic safety, teaching techniques, or the teaching of driver instruction, or the participation in professional seminars approved by the department. (c) Whenever in its judgment the public interest so requires, the department may issue a probationary license subject to special conditions to be observed by the licensee in the conduct of the traffic violator school. The conditions to be attached to the license shall be any that may, in the judgment of the department, be in the public interest and suitable to the qualifications of the applicant as disclosed by the application and investigation by the department of the information contained therein. The conditions may not appear on the license certificate. (d) Upon notification of the death of a traffic violator school licensee, the department may issue a temporary license to the executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased holder of a validly outstanding license to conduct a traffic violator school, or if no executor or administrator has been appointed and until a certified copy of an order making an appointment is filed with the department, a temporary license may be issued to the surviving spouse or other heir entitled to conduct the business of the deceased. The temporary license shall permit the holder to conduct the traffic violator school for a period of one year from and after the date of the original licensee’s death, and necessary one-year extensions may be granted to permit disposal of the business and qualification for a license of a purchaser of the business or the surviving spouse or heir. The department may restrict or condition a temporary license and attach to the exercise of the privilege thereunder any terms and conditions that in the department’s judgment are required for the protection of the public.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11205. Section 11205.

(a) The department shall provide a list of licensed traffic violator schools on its Internet Web site. For each licensed school, the list shall indicate the modalities of instruction offered and specify the cities where classroom instruction is offered. The sequential listing of licensed schools shall be randomized daily. (b) When a court or traffic assistance program (TAP) provides a hard copy list of licensed traffic violator schools to a traffic violator, the court or TAP shall provide only a current date-stamped list downloaded from the department’s Internet Web site. The hard copy list shall be as current as practicable, but in no event shall a list be distributed with a date stamp that is more than 60 days old. (c) The department shall, by April 1, 2012, develop a Web-based database that will enable the department, the courts, and traffic violator schools to monitor, report, and track participation and course completion. Traffic violator schools shall update course information within three business days of class completion and provide to the courts class completion information on a daily basis. (d) This section shall become operative on September 1, 2011.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11205.1. Section 11205.1.

Until January 1, 2013, the fee authorized in subdivision (d) of Section 11205.2, and after January 1, 2013, the fee authorized in subdivision (c) of Section 11205.2, shall be applicable only in those instances where a traffic violator has agreed to attend or has been ordered to attend a traffic violator school pursuant to Section 41501 or 42005.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11205.2. Section 11205.2.

(a) As used in this chapter, a traffic assistance program (TAP) is a public or private nonprofit agency that provides services, under contract with a court to process traffic violators or under contract with the department to assist in oversight activities. (b) A court may use a TAP to assist the court in performing services related to the processing of traffic violators. As used in this section, “services” means those services relating to the processing of traffic infraction cases at, and for, the court, including printing and providing to the court and traffic violators hard copy county-specific lists printed from the department’s Internet Web site, administratively assisting traffic violators, and any other lawful activity relating to the administration of the court’s traffic infraction caseload. (c) The court may charge a traffic violator a fee to defray the costs incurred by a TAP for traffic case administration services provided to the court pursuant to subdivision (b). The court may delegate collection of the fee to the TAP. Fees shall be approved and regulated by the court. The fee shall not exceed the actual costs incurred by the TAP for the activities authorized under subdivision (b). (d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2013.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11205.4. Section 11205.4.

(a) The department may use a traffic assistance program (TAP), or until January 1, 2013, a CAP established pursuant to Section 11205.2, for monitoring of licensed traffic violator schools, including, but not limited to, audits, inspections, review and examination of business records, class records, business practices, the content of the program of instruction set forth in the lesson plan, or curriculum of a licensee. Inspection includes, but is not limited to, the review of the business office, branch office, and applicable classroom facilities of a licensee. Monitoring includes onsite review of actual presentation of the traffic safety instruction provided in a classroom and any other activity deemed necessary to ensure high-quality education of traffic violators. (b) This section shall become operative on September 1, 2011.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11206. Section 11206.

(a) The department shall license traffic violator school instructors. Except as exempted by this section, no person shall act as a traffic violator school instructor without a currently valid instructor’s license issued by the department. Every person, in order to qualify as a traffic violator school instructor, shall meet all of the following requirements before an instructor’s license may be issued: (1) Have a high school education. (2) Within three attempts, pass an examination, as required by the department, on traffic laws, safe driving practices, operation of motor vehicles, and teaching methods and techniques. (3) Hold a currently valid California driver’s license that is not subject to probation pursuant to Section 14250 due to the applicant being a negligent operator within the meaning of Section 12810 or 12810.5. The applicant’s driving record shall not have any outstanding notice for violating a written promise to appear in court or for willfully failing to pay a lawfully imposed fine, as provided in former Section 40509. (4) Be 18 years of age or older. (b) All the qualifying requirements specified by this section shall be met within one year from the date of application for a license or the application shall lapse. However, the applicant may thereafter submit a new application upon payment of the requisite fee. (c) A license issued pursuant to this section is not required to provide instruction to traffic violators in a public school or other public educational institution by a person holding a valid teaching credential with satisfactory training or experience in the subject area, as determined by the department. Persons exempt from licensure under this section are not required to obtain a license certificate pursuant to Section 11207.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11206.5. Section 11206.5.

Each applicant for a license as a traffic violator school owner, traffic violator school operator, or traffic violator school instructor shall submit an application to the department on the forms prescribed by the department. The applicant shall provide the department with any information concerning the applicant’s character, honesty, integrity, and reputation which the department may consider necessary.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11207. Section 11207.

(a) The department shall issue a license certificate to each traffic violator school instructor when it is satisfied that he or she has met the qualifications required under this chapter. The original instructor license and any license renewed pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) shall be valid for a period of three years from the date of issuance unless canceled, suspended, or revoked by the department. (b) Every application for the renewal of a traffic violator school instructor license may be made by the licensee prior to the expiration date of the license by presenting to the department a completed application on a form provided by the department. In no event shall a traffic violator school instructor renew the license after the date of expiration. (c) The department shall require all of the following for the renewal of an instructor’s license: (1) Compliance with Section 11206, except subdivision (c) thereof. (2) Satisfactory completion of an examination as provided in Section 11206 at least once during each succeeding three-year period after the initial issuance of the license. However, in lieu of examination for renewal of the license, the department may accept submission by the licensee of evidence of continuing professional education. (d) When, in its judgment, the public interest so requires, the department may issue a probationary license subject to special conditions to be observed by the licensee in the exercise of the privilege granted. The conditions to be attached to the license shall be such as may, in the judgment of the department, be in the public interest and suitable to the qualifications of the applicant, as disclosed by the application and investigation by the department of the information contained therein.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11208. Section 11208.

(a) The department shall charge a fee, to be determined by the department, for the following traffic violator school program activities: (1) Original issuance of a traffic violator school owner, operator, instructor, and branch or classroom location license. (2) Renewal of a traffic violator school owner, operator, instructor, and branch or classroom location license. (3) Issuance of a duplicate or corrected traffic violator school owner, operator, instructor, and branch or classroom location license. (4) Transfer of an operator or instructor license from one traffic violator school to another. (5) Approval of curriculum, based on the instructional modality of the curriculum. (6) Fees for administering the examinations pursuant to Sections 11206 and 11207. (b) The fees authorized under subdivision (a) shall be sufficient to defray the actual cost to the department to administer the traffic violator school program, except for routine monitoring of instruction. (c) A single administrative fee shall be assessed against, and collected by the court pursuant to Section 42007.1 from, each driver who is allowed or ordered to attend traffic violator school. Included in this fee shall be an amount determined by the department to be sufficient to defray the cost of routine monitoring of traffic violator school instruction. (d) This section shall become operative on September 1, 2011.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11209. Section 11209.

Any traffic violator school owner, traffic violator school operator, or traffic violator school instructor required to be licensed under this chapter who fails to renew the license before the expiration of the license may not renew that license, but may reapply for an original license pursuant to this chapter. For purposes of this section, a license that has been canceled may not be renewed and a license that is suspended or revoked may not be renewed, until reinstatement or reissuance by the department. If the period of suspension or revocation extends beyond the expiration of a license, it may not be renewed, but the person may apply for a new license thereafter.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11210. Section 11210.

Pending determination by the department that an applicant for a license fully satisfies the requirements of this chapter, the department may issue a temporary permit to the applicant. A temporary permit may authorize the operation of a traffic violator school or acting as a traffic violator school operator or traffic violator school instructor for a period not to exceed 120 days while the department is completing its investigation and determination of all facts relative to the qualifications of the applicant for the license. The department may cancel a temporary permit when it has determined or has reasonable cause to believe that the application is incorrect or incomplete or the temporary permit was issued in error. A temporary permit is invalid upon cancellation or once the applicant has been issued or denied the license applied for.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11211. Section 11211.

(a) The department may refuse to issue a license to any applicant under this chapter when it finds and determines that any of the following exist: (1) The applicant was previously the holder of a license under this chapter which was revoked or suspended. (2) The applicant was previously the holder of an occupational license issued by another state, authorizing the same or similar activities of a license issued under this division; and that license was revoked or suspended for cause and was never reissued, or was suspended for cause, and the terms of suspension have not been fulfilled. (3) The applicant has done any act or series of acts which would be a cause for suspension or revocation of licensure under Section 11215, regardless of whether the applicant was licensed under this chapter at the time of the act or acts. (4) If the applicant is a business, a business representative was the holder of a previously issued license under this chapter that was suspended or revoked or has done any act or series of acts which would be a cause for suspension or revocation of a license under Section 11215, regardless of whether the business representative was licensed under this chapter at the time of the act or acts. (5) By reason of the facts and circumstances relating to the organization, control, and management of the business, it is likely that both of the following will occur: (A) The policy or operation of the business will be directed, controlled, or managed by an individual who, by reason of an act, series of acts, or conduct described in paragraph (3) or (4), would be ineligible for a license. (B) By licensing the business, the purposes of this division would be defeated. (6) The applicant has knowingly made a false statement or knowingly concealed a material fact in applying for a license under this chapter. (7) The applicant, or a business representative if the applicant is a business, has been convicted of a crime, or committed any act or engaged in conduct involving moral turpitude which is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the licensed activity. A conviction after a plea of nolo contendere is a conviction within the meaning of this section. (b) Upon refusal of the department to issue a license under this chapter, the applicant is entitled to a hearing upon demand in writing submitted to the department within 60 days after notice of refusal. The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. (c) A person whose license has been revoked or application for a license has been refused may reapply for the license after a period of not less than one year has elapsed from the effective date of the decision revoking the license or refusing the application.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11212. Section 11212.

(a) Every owner licensed under this chapter shall keep a record at the traffic violator school’s primary business location showing all of the following for each student: (1) The name and address and license number of the traffic violator school providing instruction. (2) The name and address of each person given instruction. (3) The instruction permit number or driver’s license number of every person given instruction. (4) The name and number of the license issued pursuant to Section 11207 of the traffic violator school instructor. (5) The particular type of instruction given and the date or dates of the instruction. (6) A statement as to whether the approved lesson plan was followed. (7) The total number of hours of instruction. (8) The total cost to the student of the instruction, which shall not exceed the amount of the fee represented or advertised by the traffic violator school at the time of the student’s enrollment. (9) The court docket number under which the student was referred to a traffic violator school. (10) The number of the completion certificate issued to the student pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 11208 and, if different, the number of any copy thereof issued to the student. (b) The records shall be retained for a minimum of three years and shall be open to the inspection during business hours and at all other reasonable times by the department, the court, a private entity providing monitoring pursuant to Section 11222, the Legislative Analyst, and the State Auditor or authorized employees thereof, but shall be only for confidential use. (c) Whenever a licensee suspends or terminates the licensed activity, the licensee shall surrender the records specified in subdivision (a) to the department for examination not later than the end of the third day, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the date of suspension or termination. The department may duplicate or make a record of any information contained therein. All these records shall be returned to the licensee not later than 30 days after the date of surrender. (d) The address of any person kept pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall only be used by the school for school administrative purposes.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11213. Section 11213.

(a) Every traffic violator school owner licensed pursuant to this chapter shall notify the department within 10 days of any change in the ownership or corporate structure of the licensee. (b) Every traffic violator school owner shall immediately notify the department of the following activities: (1) Change of the site or location of the school’s established principal place of business. (2) Addition or deletion of a traffic violator school branch or classroom location. (c) Every traffic violator school operator and traffic violator school instructor licensed pursuant to this chapter shall report to the department every change of residence address within five days of the change. (d) The department may require persons licensed pursuant to this chapter to submit additional reports as determined necessary by the department to serve the purposes of this chapter.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11214. Section 11214.

(a) Except as provided in this chapter, the department may audit, inspect, and monitor, all licensed traffic violator schools. (b) The department may annually audit the records of a licensee. Auditing includes, but is not limited to, the review and examination of business records, class records when applicable, business practices, and the content of the program of instruction set forth in the lesson plan or curriculum of a licensee. (c) Inspecting includes, but is not limited to, the review of the business office, branch office, and applicable classroom facilities of a licensee. (d) Monitoring includes the onsite review of the actual presentation of the program of traffic safety instruction provided in a classroom mode of instruction.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11215. Section 11215.

The department, after notice and hearing, may suspend or revoke a license issued under this chapter if any of the following circumstances exist: (a) The department finds and determines that the licensee ceases to meet any requirement to obtain a license under this chapter. (b) The holder fails to comply with, or otherwise violates, a provision of this chapter or a regulation or requirement of the department adopted pursuant to this chapter. (c) The licensee engages in fraudulent practices with respect to its activities licensed under this chapter or induces or fails to promptly report to the department any known fraud or fraudulent practices on the part of an employee of the traffic violator school. (d) The licensee represents himself or herself as an agent or employee of the department or uses advertising designed to create the impression, or that would reasonably have the effect of leading persons to believe that the licensee was in fact an employee or representative of the department, or whenever the licensee advertises, in any manner or means, a statement that is untrue or misleading and that is known, or that by the exercise of reasonable care should be known, to be untrue or misleading. (e) The licensee or an employee or agent of the licensee collects fees for or preregisters a person in traffic violator school or solicits traffic violator school instruction in an office of the department or in a court or within 500 feet of a court. (f) The licensee is convicted of violating Section 20001, 20002, 20003, 20004, 20006, 20008, 23103, 23104, 23105, 23152, or 23153 of this code or subdivision (b) of Section 191.5 or Section 192 of the Penal Code. A conviction after a plea of nolo contendere is a conviction within the meaning of this section. (g) The traffic violator school owner teaches, or permits an employee to teach, traffic safety instruction without a valid instructor’s license. (h) The traffic violator school owner does not have in effect a bond as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 11202 or a deposit in lieu of the bond, as specified in Section 11203.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11215.5. Section 11215.5.

The department, after notice and hearing, may also suspend or revoke any license issued under this chapter when any of the following circumstances exist: (a) If the main business office of the traffic violator school is located in any county with a population of 400,000 or more in which the traffic violator school conducts its instructional program, and the main business office does not maintain office hours during the time that the day courts in that county are open for business. This subdivision shall not apply to public schools. (b) If the licensee is found by the department to be selling, or knowingly permitting the sale of, completion certificates. (c) If the licensee is found by the department to be intentionally cutting instructional time short. (d) If the licensee is found by the department to be intentionally diverting any student to a traffic school other than the school initially contacted by that student, without disclosure to that student, through the use of the department’s list of licensed traffic violator schools.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11215.7. Section 11215.7.

Any of the causes specified in this chapter as a cause for refusal to issue a license under this chapter is cause to suspend or revoke a license under this chapter.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11216. Section 11216.

Any license issued to a traffic violator school owner under this chapter shall be automatically canceled upon the happening of any of the following: (a) The abandonment of the established place of business or the change thereof without notice to the department pursuant to Section 11213. (b) The failure to maintain an adequate bond or to procure and file another bond, as required by Section 11202, prior to the effective date of the termination by the surety of any existing bond. (c) The voluntary or involuntary surrender of the license, except that a surrender or cessation of business by the licensee, or the suspension or revocation of the corporate status of the licensee, does not preclude the department from filing an accusation for revocation or suspension of the surrendered license, as provided in Section 11215 or 11215.5, or affect the department’s decision to suspend or revoke the license. (d) Notification to the department that the person designated as the licensee has changed. (e) Suspension or cancellation of the corporate status of the licensee.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11216.2. Section 11216.2.

(a) Any license issued to the owner or operator of a traffic violator school under this chapter shall be automatically suspended for 30 days by the department if the department has been notified that more than one final determination has been made that the traffic violator school has violated a student’s rights under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101, et seq.) or any other federal or state law prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The final determination shall be made by a federal or state court of competent jurisdiction or an appropriate federal or state administrative agency, including, but not limited to, the Civil Rights Department, or any combination thereof. For the purpose of this subdivision, “final determination” means that no further appeal of a determination can be taken to any court because the time period for the appeal has expired. (b) If a traffic violator school subject to suspension under this section is operated by a traffic school operator licensed pursuant to Section 11202.5 who is operating other traffic schools, the licenses of the owners of those traffic schools operated by that traffic school operator also shall be suspended for the 30-day period.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11216.5. Section 11216.5.

(a) The department, after notice and hearing, on an interim basis, may refuse to issue or may suspend a license issued under this chapter when the applicant or licensee, or a business representative if the applicant or licensee is a business, has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude which is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the licensed activity, if an appeal of the conviction is pending or the conviction has otherwise not become final. A conviction after a plea of nolo contendere is a conviction within the meaning of this section. (b) If a conviction, on which an interim refusal to issue or suspension under subdivision (a) is based, is affirmed on appeal or otherwise becomes final, the refusal to issue or the suspension shall automatically take effect as a denial or revocation, as the case may be, of the license. If the interim refusal to issue or suspension was stayed under probationary terms and conditions, the subsequent automatic denial or revocation shall also be stayed under the same terms and conditions for a term not to exceed the original term of probation for the interim refusal to issue or suspension. (c) If a conviction, upon which an interim refusal to issue or suspension under subdivision (a) is based, is reversed on appeal, the refusal or suspension shall be set aside immediately by the department.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11217. Section 11217.

(a) Every licensee under this chapter is entitled to notice and hearing prior to suspension or revocation of the license by the department, except that the department shall immediately suspend the license pursuant to subdivision (e) for any act of fraud specified in subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 11215. (b) Before reinstatement of any license suspended pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11215, the licensee shall pay the department a reinstatement fee of five dollars ($5). (c) The notice and hearings provided for in this division shall be pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. (d) Any action of the department, in suspending, canceling, revoking, or failing to renew a license issued pursuant to this chapter, may be reviewed by any court of competent jurisdiction. (e) The department may, pending a hearing, temporarily suspend the license or permit of any traffic violator school owner, operator, or instructor for a period of not more than 30 days if the director finds that the public interest so requires. In that case, a hearing shall be held and a decision issued within 30 days after issuance of the notice of temporary suspension. (f) The suspension, expiration, or cancellation of a license issued pursuant to this chapter does not preclude the filing of an accusation for the revocation or suspension of the suspended, expired, or canceled license, and does not invalidate or otherwise preclude a decision by the department to suspend or revoke the license, and this determination may be considered by the department in granting or refusing to grant any subsequent license under this chapter to the same licensee or to any business representative of the same licensee.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11217.5. Section 11217.5.

Any owner licensed under this chapter who has closed his or her established place of business or any operator or instructor currently or previously licensed under this chapter who no longer resides at the address last filed with the department, may be served with process issued pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code by registered mail at that place of business, in the case of an owner, or at that residence, in the case of an operator or instructor, unless the person has notified the department in writing of another address where service may be made.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11218. Section 11218.

(a) After the filing of an accusation under this chapter, the director may enter into a stipulated compromise settlement agreement with the consent of the licensee on terms and conditions mutually agreeable to the director, the respondent licensee, and the accuser without further hearing or appeal. The agreement may include, but is not limited to, a period of probation or monetary penalties, or both. The monetary penalty shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation for a traffic violator school owner or five hundred dollars ($500) per violation for traffic violator school operators or instructors, and shall be based on the nature of the violation and the effect of the violation on the purposes of this chapter. (b) A compromise settlement agreement may be entered before, during, or after the hearing, but is valid only if executed and filed pursuant to subdivision (d) before the proposed decision of the hearing officer, if any, is adopted or the case is decided. (c) The department shall adopt, by regulation, a schedule of maximum and minimum amounts of monetary penalties, the payment of which may be included as a term or condition of a compromise settlement agreement entered under subdivision (a). Any monetary penalty included in a compromise settlement agreement shall be within the range of monetary penalties in that schedule. (d) Any compromise settlement agreement entered under this section shall be signed by the director, the respondent licensee, and the accuser, or by their authorized representatives. The director shall file, or cause to be filed, the agreement with the Office of Administrative Hearings, together with the department’s notice of withdrawal of the accusation or statement of issues upon which the action was initiated, unless that accusation or statement has not yet been forwarded to the Office of Administrative Hearings. (e) If the respondent licensee fails to perform all of the terms and conditions of the compromise settlement agreement, the agreement is void and the department may take any action authorized by law notwithstanding the agreement, including, but not limited to, refiling the accusation or imposing license sanctions.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11219. Section 11219.

The director may prescribe rules and regulations for traffic violator schools regarding the conduct of courses of education including curriculum, facilities, and equipment. The curriculum shall include, but is not limited to, the rights and duties of a motorist as they pertain to pedestrians and the rights and duties of a pedestrian as they relate to traffic laws and traffic safety. The director may also prescribe rules and regulations for the conduct of instructor training courses.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11219.3. Section 11219.3.

The curriculum prescribed pursuant to Section 11219 shall include, but is not limited to, the following: (a) The rights and duties of a motorist as they pertain to pedestrians. (b) The rights and duties of a pedestrian as they relate to traffic laws and traffic safety. (c) Information that emphasizes respecting the right-of-way of others, particularly with respect to pedestrians, bicycle riders, and motorcycle riders.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11219.5. Section 11219.5.

(a) A traffic violator school shall issue a receipt for a fee collected by the traffic violator school from a person who registers for, attends, or completes a program of instruction in traffic safety at the licensed traffic violator school. (b) In the event of a cancellation of a scheduled class, a licensee under this chapter shall not be required by the department to provide a program of instruction in traffic safety to a person for a fee that is less than the standard fee normally charged by the licensee for its program, if a notice of cancellation of a class is given to a student at least 72 hours prior to the start of the class, or if the class was canceled based upon exigent circumstances beyond the control of the licensee.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11220. Section 11220.

The department may require any person licensed under this chapter to submit to a reexamination of his or her qualifications when there is reasonable cause to believe that the licensee does not have the ability to give instruction. If the licensee refuses or fails to submit to the reexamination, the department may, without a hearing, temporarily suspend his or her license until such time as the licensee submits to the reexamination. The suspension shall be effective upon receipt of notice by the licensee.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11222. Section 11222.

The department may contract with a nongovernmental entity to administer any part of this chapter, subject to limitations in other laws regarding contracting out for services. No contract shall exceed three years’ duration. The contracting entity, and any affiliate or subsidiary thereof monitoring traffic violator schools, shall conform to all of the following requirements: (a) Engage in no other business activity with traffic violator schools or any of the principals of the traffic violator schools, including the provision of services or supplies. (b) Provide reports in statistical form to the department and to the Legislature as instructed by the department. These reports shall be issued not less frequently than annually. (c) Make its records available for inspection by authorized representatives of the department, the Legislative Analyst, and the State Auditor.

Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11223. Section 11223.

A motorcyclist safety training program established pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 2930) of Chapter 5 of Division 2, that is licensed by the department as a traffic violator school, may administer a motorcyclist training course. In addition to the curriculum prescribed by the department pursuant to Section 11219, the motorcyclist training course may include instruction specific to the safe and lawful operation of motorcycles in accordance with Section 2932.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026