2. No person shall engage in the business of conducting a drivers’ school without being licensed therefor by the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Application therefor shall be in writing and contain such information therein as he shall require on initial and renewal applications, including the applicant’s Federal Tax Identification number, State tax identification number and proof of workers’ compensation insurance coverage by a mutual association or stock company authorized to write coverage on such risks in this State or written authorization by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance to self-insure for workers’ compensation pursuant to R.S.34:15-77. The applicant shall file a surety bond in the amount of $10,000 issued by a company authorized to transact surety business in this State and payable to the division. A license shall not be issued or renewed unless the applicant or an employee is a qualified supervising instructor. For purposes of this section, a “qualified supervising instructor” shall mean a drivers’ school instructor who a. is currently licensed and has been licensed by the division for at least two years prior to submission of the initial or renewal application, b. has successfully provided a minimum of 500 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction, and c. has successfully completed a three credit New Jersey driver education college course offered by a college or university licensed by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. The applicant shall furnish, together with the application, satisfactory evidence that the applicant or an employee is a qualified supervising instructor as set forth herein, except that an applicant for license renewal shall have one year after the date this act becomes effective to furnish evidence of completion of a three credit New Jersey driver education college course to the division. If the application is approved, the applicant shall be granted a license to teach approved courses in classroom and behind-the-wheel driver education upon the payment of a fee of $250.00; provided, however, no license fee shall be charged for the issuance of a license to any board of education, school board, public, private or parochial school, which conducts a course in driver education, approved by the State Department of Education. A license so issued shall be valid during the calendar year. The annual fee for renewal shall be $200. The chief administrator shall issue a license certificate or license certificates to each licensee, one of which shall be displayed in each place of business of the licensee.

For the purposes of this section, each applicant for a license shall submit to the chief administrator the applicant’s name, address, fingerprints and written consent for a criminal history record background check to be performed. The chief administrator is hereby authorized to exchange fingerprint data with and receive criminal history record information from the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation consistent with applicable State and federal laws, rules and regulations, for purposes of facilitating determinations concerning licensure eligibility. The applicant shall bear the cost for the criminal history record background check, including all costs of administering and processing the check. The Division of State Police shall promptly notify the chief administrator in the event a current holder of a license or prospective applicant, who was the subject of a criminal history record background check pursuant to this section, is arrested for a crime or offense in this State after the date the background check was performed.

A public, parochial or private school or a drivers’ school licensed by the chief administator pursuant to this section shall be authorized to provide behind-the-wheel driving instruction.

Upon further application to the chief administrator, a drivers’ school licensed by the chief administrator pursuant to this section may be approved by the chief administrator to conduct a State approved written drivers’ examination, eye examination, or remedial training course, subject to a fee and annual renewal thereof in an amount which shall be determined by the chief administrator. The examinations and training course shall be administered pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the chief administrator and subject to oversight by the division. The authority of the chief administrator to suspend, revoke or deny issuance of an initial or renewal license to operate a drivers’ school or an instructor’s license, and to assess fines, pursuant to this chapter, shall apply to any violations related to the administration of a State approved written drivers’ examination, eye examination or remedial training course.

In case of the loss, mutilation or destruction of a certificate, the chief administrator shall issue a duplicate upon proof of the facts and the payment of a fee of $5.

L.1951,c.216,s.2; amended 1952, c.196; 1975, c.180, s.21; 1994, c.60, s.29; 2001, c.420, s.9; 2003, c.199, s.23.