Taylor's Law, named after David Taylor, a father of two who was killed when a teen driver sped through a stop sign at 85 miles per hour, creates a point system based on student discipline records, including in-school and out-of-school suspensions, that can delay when a student is eligible to drive.
Starting at age 13, disciplinary actions are now tracked, and each point a child receives adds one week to the waiting period for obtaining a driver's permit or license after their birthday.
Eligibility cannot be extended by more than one year beyond the date the student would otherwise first qualify to apply for a learner's permit or driver's license, and students can reduce or eliminate accumulated points through improved behavior.
Dr. Clarence Sutton, the superintendent of Huntsville City Schools, told local news the law is intended to show students that "your behavior can have some consequences outside of the school."
Little is known about the teen responsible for Taylor's death. The individual survived the crash, but there is no information tying the driver to school disciplinary problems or the type of behavior Taylor's Law now tracks. The connection to the law appears to be about teen driving accountability, not documented school misconduct by the teen involved in Taylor's death.
But not everyone agrees with the law. Rather than having a universal rule, a Birmingham driver, for example, told Alabama's 42 News, "We have to see why each individual student is … doing what they're doing."
Though homeschoolers still have to meet Alabama's normal requirements for getting a learner's permit or license, such as age requirements and required documentation, homeschooled students generally would not accumulate Taylor's Law disciplinary points.
Many states link teens' driving privileges to school attendance or academic requirements, but Taylor's Law appears to be unusual in using school disciplinary actions as a point system that can delay a student's eligibility for a permit or license.
