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3.1 Student Enrollment, Rights and Responsibilities, and Refunds

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Maryland Driving Instructor Study Guide Exam

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1 Chapter 1: Maryland Driving Instructor Credentials

1.1 Two Credentials: Instructor License vs. Instructor Certification 1.2 Qualifications, Background Checks, and Application 1.3 The Apprentice Instructor Permit and Supervised Training 1.4 MVA Testing and Required Instructor Courses 1.5 Badges, Renewal, Professional Development, and Discipline

2 Chapter 2: Driving Schools, Certified Schools, and Facilities

2.1 Drivers' School Licensing and Operational Requirements 2.2 Driver Education School Certification and Operating Rules 2.3 Business Office and Classroom Facility Requirements 2.4 Training Vehicle and Dual-Control Equipment Requirements

3 Chapter 3: Program Administration, Records, and Enforcement

3.1 Student Enrollment, Rights and Responsibilities, and Refunds 3.2 Records, Reports, and Completion Certification 3.3 Quality Control, Violations, and Progressive Discipline

4 Chapter 4: Delivering the Maryland Driver Education Program

4.1 The 30/6 Program Structure and Classroom Operation Rules 4.2 The 10-Unit MVA Classroom Curriculum 4.3 Behind-the-Wheel Instruction Requirements 4.4 Student Performance Criteria, Testing, and Remediation

5 Chapter 5: Instructional Methodology and In-Car Technique

5.1 Classroom Teaching Methods and Adolescent Driver Psychology 5.2 Dual-Control Mechanics, Instructor Interventions, and In-Car Safety 5.3 Progressive In-Car Instructional Sequence and Skill Milestones 5.4 In-Car Coaching, Commentary Driving, and Emergency Management

6 Chapter 6: Maryland Vehicle Law and the Rookie Driver System

6.1 The Learner's Instructional Permit 6.2 The Provisional License and the Full Driver's License 6.3 The Maryland Point System, Sanctions, and Hearings 6.4 Impaired Driving, Implied Consent, and Noah’s Law

7 Chapter 7: Traffic Control Devices and Maryland Rules of the Road

7.1 Maryland Road Signs, Signals, and Pavement Markings 7.2 Right-of-Way Rules and Intersection Management 7.3 Speed Regulations, Passing Rules, and Special Roadway Scenarios

8 Chapter 8: Defensive Driving Systems, Adverse Conditions, and Hazard Management

8.1 Space Management Systems (SIPDE and SEE) and Visual Search 8.2 Adverse Environmental Conditions and Emergency Maneuvers 8.3 Sharing the Road with Vulnerable Users and Commercial Vehicles 8.4 Post-Licensing Risk Factors and Lifelong Safe Driving Habits

3.1 Student Enrollment, Rights and Responsibilities, and Refunds

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

To enroll in the Maryland driver education program a student must be seeking a noncommercial driver's license and must present a valid learner's permit before behind-the-wheel instruction (COMAR 11.23.02.35A).

The student — and the parent or guardian if the student is under 18 — must sign a rights and responsibilities form at enrollment and receive a copy (COMAR 11.23.02.08E).

The rights and responsibilities form must disclose course fees, refund policy, retest fees, remedial-instruction fees, make-up policies, and how behind-the-wheel instruction is scheduled.

A certified school must give not less than 8 hours notice when cancelling or postponing more than 2 hours of scheduled instruction (COMAR 11.23.02.08A(13)).

If the MVA suspends or revokes a school license, the school must refund 100 percent if instruction has not started or the first class was not completed, and a prorated amount otherwise (COMAR 11.23.01.11H(3)).

Last updated: September 2026

Who May Enroll (COMAR 11.23.02.35)

To be eligible to enroll in the program, an individual shall:

  • Be seeking a noncommercial driver's license ; and
  • Prior to participating in the behind-the-wheel instruction , obtain and present to the certified

school a valid learner's permit .

Note the sequencing. The learner's permit is not required to begin the classroom portion — it is

required "prior to participating in the behind-the-wheel instruction." COMAR 11.23.02.34C-D reinforces this from the instructor's side: a certified school shall conduct behind-the-wheel

instruction only for a student who has a valid learner's permit, and an instructor shall verify that the individual has a valid learner's permit before providing the instruction . Verification is

a personal duty of the instructor at each lesson, not a one-time office check.

  • §B requires the certified school to make accommodations for a student with special needs in
  • compliance with all local, State, and federal nondiscrimination laws and regulations including, but
  • not limited to, the Americans with Disabilities Act . COMAR 11.23.02.04C(5) separately allows the
  • MVA to certify organizations that provide instruction for students with special needs, and COMAR

11.23.02.33H requires pedal extensions and seat cushions to be available in all training vehicles.

  • The Rights and Responsibilities Form (COMAR 11.23.02.08E)
  • At the time of student enrollment , the certified school shall require the student — and, if the
  • student is under 18 years of age, the parent or guardian — to sign a rights and responsibilities

form and return a copy of the signed form to the student . The form must contain:

Classroom and testing locations, dates, and times ;

The certified school's established policy for:

  • (a) course cancellations and postponements, conforming to §A(13);
  • (b) course fees, payment methods, refund policy, and retest fees ;
  • (c) fees for remedial and additional instruction ;
  • (d) make-up policies ; and
  • (e) how and when the behind-the-wheel instruction is scheduled ;
  • The payment or assistance policy permitting students with verified financial hardships to
  • participate;
  • That the student's driving record kept by the Administration will be updated within 3 business
  • days after the student completes the program;
  • That, after presenting a complaint to the driving school, the student has a right to file a
  • complaint against a certified school with the Administration , including the appropriate MVA
  • official's contact information, for a violation of the school's responsibilities as set forth in
  • the form or for dissatisfaction with the service provided; and
  • That if the student withdraws, the student shall be provided with a classroom student record and
  • completion form and a behind-the-wheel student record and completion form listing the amount

of instruction completed, which will be transferable to a new school , and shall receive a prorated refund in accordance with §A(14).

The signed form is not just a consumer document. COMAR 11.23.01.08A(6) and 11.23.02.09A(6) both require signed student rights and responsibilities forms to be part of the school's retained

records.

  • Cancellation and Postponement Notice
  • COMAR 11.23.02.08A(13) requires a certified school to "provide not less than 8 hours notice to
  • the student in the event of a cancellation or postponement of more than 2 hours of a scheduled
  • behind-the-wheel or classroom instructional period."
  • Read both numbers together. The trigger is a cancellation or postponement exceeding two hours; the

duty is eight hours of advance notice. And COMAR 11.23.02.32N requires the certified school to make up all missed classroom instruction if the scheduled instruction is canceled or postponed —

the school's own cancellation never counts against the student.

Refunds

Three distinct refund situations appear in COMAR 11.23:

  • 1. Ordinary withdrawal or transfer
  • COMAR 11.23.02.08A(14) : the certified school shall "provide a prorated refund to a student who
  • withdraws or transfers from the school." Paired with §E(6), the withdrawing student also leaves with

transferable classroom and behind-the-wheel record and completion forms.

2. School license suspended or revoked (COMAR 11.23.01.11H)

A school whose license has been suspended or revoked shall immediately :

  • Surrender the school's license to the Administration;
  • Stop conducting courses and all school operations ; and

Refund student fees as follows:

  • (a) 100 percent of the fees paid if instruction has not started or if the first class
  • of a course was not completed ; and
  • (b) in all other cases, a prorated amount based on the portion of courses that have not

been completed .

  • The trigger for a full refund is generous: it is not merely "before the course begins" but also
  • "if the first class of a course was not completed."
  • 3. Fee disclosure as a precondition

Because COMAR 11.23.01.20D(3)-(4) requires the fee schedule and the refund procedure to be prominently displayed in the business office , and COMAR 11.23.02.08E(2)(b) requires both in the

signed enrollment form, a school cannot rely on an undisclosed refund policy.

  • Financial Hardship
  • Two provisions work together. COMAR 11.23.02.06C(4) requires the certification applicant to file
  • a written policy detailing a proposed payment or assistance plan for students with verifiable
  • financial hardships. COMAR 11.23.02.08B(5) requires the certified school to maintain at all
  • times a payment or assistance policy that will permit students with verifiable financial hardships
  • to participate in the program courses. It is a continuing obligation, not a one-time application

attachment.

  • Worked scenario
  • Case. A student completes 12 of the 30 classroom hours and 2 of the 6 behind-the-wheel hours,

then moves out of the school's service area and withdraws.

Analysis. Under COMAR 11.23.02.08A(14) the school owes a prorated refund . Under §E(6) the

school must give the student a Classroom Student Record and Completion Form and a Behind-the-Wheel Student Record and Completion Form listing the instruction completed — the

forms identified in COMAR 11.23.02.38A as DE-003A and DE-003B — so the hours transfer to

the new school. The school retains copies under COMAR 11.23.02.09A.