Naperville School District 203 is requesting a waiver from the Illinois State Board of Education to increase driver’s education fees to help offset the costs it incurs to run the program.
The D203 School Board this week approved the waiver request that would allow the district to charge up to $500 for driver’s education for the 2027 to 2031 school years. School districts are allowed to charge $250 under state rules, and anything beyond that amount must be submitted to the state school board for approval.
District 203 applied for its first waiver in 2017, asking to charge up to $400 for driver’s education, which was approved through 2021 and renewed through 2026, according to district documents.
The driver’s education program, however, loses money.
In 2024-25, it cost the district $537,549 to run the program for 682 students but only received $279,500 in revenue through student fees and state funds, district documents said.
“Our last waiver set a maximum at $400, and so over time we brought that up to the maximum amount of $400,” Superintendent Dan Bridges said. “… It doesn’t come anywhere close to covering the cost of this course.”
Without the waiver, the district would have to divert funding from other academic programs to to pay for driver’s education, Chief Financial Officer Michael Frances said.
By increasing the fees, the district could receive up to $50,000 in additional revenue, which would help close the deficit, Frances said.
The school board will set next year’s driver’s education fees next month, Frances said, and could opt for incremental increases as long as it does not exceed $500.
The district is also allowed to waive fees for students who qualify.
Several area school districts have applied for waivers to charge anywhere from $300 to $600 for the course.
Indian Prairie School District 204 has asked for a waiver to charge $425, which expires in 2027, while Adlai E. Stevenson High School District 125 and St. Charles School District 303 have asked for $600, which will expire in 2030.
Some local private driver’s education programs range in cost from $525 to $595, according to district information.
D203’s driver’s education course is a one-semester class that includes at least 30 hours of classroom instruction, 12 hours of computer simulation, which equals about three hours behind the wheel, three hours of behind the wheel instruction and 12 hours of observation. The program is offered during the school year and in the summer.
The district uses its own staff to teach driver’s education, Bridges said.
The State Board of Education requires the district to provide an option for driver’s education, but the course is not required for graduation, he said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.