Hermiston High School driver education instructors Steve Anderson and Kelly Robison pose on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, by their cars, which are specially equipped with two sets of brakes. The program is revving back up after a long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

HERMISTON — Driver’s education is returning to Hermiston High School.

“We haven’t had a class since spring of 2019, so people have been waiting for it to come back,” Steve Anderson, Hermiston High School teacher, said.

Anderson is one of the two driver’s education teachers for classes that began Wednesday, May 18, and end July 1. He said the program was put on hold in 2019, by order of the Oregon Department of Education. There are private companies, which were not under the same restrictions, and they were able to offer classes, he said; the Hermiston School District was not so lucky.

For months, while these classes were on hiatus, students frequently asked him about driver’s education, Anderson said. Now that it is available once more, he added, the buzz about it has been positive.

“People are really excited about it,” he said.

Class sign-up started, and Anderson said the class filled quickly. Thirty students are presently enrolled in the class that begins and ends.

The application for the program shows students must pay a $300 fee before starting the class, though a student may qualify for reduced tuition of $225. In addition to paying the fee, students must have their Oregon Instruction Permit.

According to a Hermiston School District brochure, students will attend class five days a week for one hour and drive and observe for three hours one day a week for seven weeks.

Anderson commented on one special thing about the class. According to the instructor, students will receive a driver’s education program certificate and may qualify for a waiver so they won’t have to take a DMV drive test.

Anderson said that his program was vetted by the Oregon Department of Transportation against the DMV test. The school’s final drive test is just as rigorous as the DMV one, he said.

The only shortcoming, according to Anderson, is that the program does not have more teachers. There are two for the summer, though more teachers are on the way. He said three teachers are set to be trained during the summer, and they will start in the fall. At that time, the school has plans to offer classes to 60 students, with the potential for 90, if necessary.

These teachers, Anderson said, are young. Anderson said he is retiring and planning to return to the district for part-time work. These new teachers, on the other hand, may stick around for years.

He stressed, however, that a driver’s training does not begin and end with this program. It is very important, he said, for parents to set good examples for their kids.

“If you drive with one hand on the steering wheel, they’ll do the same thing,” Anderson said. Likewise, he added, if parents use their phones or yell at other people on the road, young people will follow suit.

For more information, email Anderson at steve.anderson@hermistonsd.org.