NO PASS / NO DRIVE

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR GRADES…AND YOUR ATTENDANCE!

No Pass/No Drive Law

GCHS Policy & Procedure

Overview

The No Pass/No Drive Law (KRS 159.051) was passed during the 2007 legislative session, and affects every public and private school in Kentucky (including home school students). The law says that schools will use academic and attendance data from the previous semester of the school year to determine whether 16- and 17-year-old students are compliant with the law. If deemed noncompliant, the student’s current driver’s license or learner’s permit is revoked. This process occurs on a secure web portal that directly connects schools with the Kentucky Department of Transportation, Division of Driver Licensing. High School Graduates or students who are eighteen (18) years old are exempt.

What is No Pass/No Drive?

The “No Pass/No Drive” statue results in the denial of the school compliance verification form or the revocation of a students drivers license for the following reasons:

1. Academic Deficiency:  Academic deficiency is defined as a student who does not have passing grades in at least three courses, in the preceding semester.  The law specifies that a student “shall” pass 66% of his classes.  Reports of noncompliance based on academic deficiency will be made by the school via the web portal beginning using grades from the previous semester. 

2. Nine or More Unexcused Absences in one semester:  A sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) year old student is deemed to have dropped out of school when he/she has 9 or more unexcused absences  in the preceding semester. 

Reporting: What happens when a student is reported as noncompliant?

A revoked learner’s permit or driver’s license can be reinstated electronically on the web portal if the student is compliant with the terms of the law for an entire semester, or completes the credits in summer school.

Since the reporting requirements specify “the preceding semester”, schools are not required to report until the end of that semester, but it can be done before that if the district decides to do so. 

Absences do not accumulate into the next semester, but the student must be “compliant for an entire semester” to be reinstated. So, if this happened in the fall semester, they would be deemed non compliant for the entire spring semester. If they do not have nine (9) unexcused absences in the spring semester, they should be reported as compliant after the end of the spring semester.

Within ten (10) days of receiving notification of academic deficiency or dropping out due to unexcused absences at the end of a semester, a district shall report the student’s name and SS# to the Transportation Cabinet through the web portal.  Additionally, if a sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) year old driver drops out of school, a report of non compliance should be made via the web portal within 10 days of the withdrawal date. 

The Transportation Cabinet will notify the student by mail (“as soon as possible”) that their driver’s license has been revoked and inform the student of the option of a “right of hearing” before the District Court where the court can reinstate a license due to “hardship factors”.

How do students become compliant (after being reported noncompliant)? 

KDE recommends that the student be in compliance (good standing) for grades and attendance for a full semester before regaining driving privileges. Then they are reported compliant by the school on the web portal.

What if the student goes to summer school? 

A student may also reapply for his driver’s license at the end of a summer school semester, which results in the student having passed at least four (4) courses or the equivalent during the successive spring and summer semesters.

Do students have to pay a fee to have their driver’s license reinstated after revocation due to No Pass/No Drive? 

No, a fee will not be required, unless the license has been suspended for one year, when the student will have to take the written and eye exams again.

What happens to the time lost in the graduated licensing process, while my learner’s permit is revoked? 

A student loses just the time the permit was revoked, and starts again where it was. They do not have to start the graduated licensing process again from the beginning.

When an out-of-state student transfers into a Kentucky school, do grades and absences from other states apply? 

No, the law is not reciprocal and applies only after the student enrolls in a KY school.

REMEMBER TO HAVE A LEGITIMATE EXCUSE FOR MISSING SCHOOL AND A PARENT/GUARDIAN MUST CALL THE SCHOOL THE DAY OF THE ABSENCE.  

AFTER 10 ABSENCES A DOCTOR’S EXCUSE MUST BE PROVIDED IN ORDER FOR ABSENCE TO BE EXCUSED. 

NO PASS NO DRIVE—IT’S THE LAW!