December 4, 2002

Tony Taylor
462 Oakland Drive
Princeton, West Virginia 24740

Dear Mr. Taylor,

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated November 30, 2002 relative to West Virginia Code ?18-8-11(c) and the procedure for a student to obtain documentation of enrollment status for the purpose of obtaining a license or instruction permit to operate a motor vehicle.

In particular, you asked:

Is a students [sic] enrollment for a drivers license based on the current school year or is it based on the previous school year?

West Virginia Code ?18-8-11(a) states that:

?the division of motor vehicles shall deny a license or instruction permit for the operation of a motor vehicle to any person under the age of eighteen who does not at the time of application present . . . documentation that the person . . . is enrolled in a secondary school of this state or any other state . . .?

Additionally, West Virginia Code ?18-8-11(b) provides that:
?The attendance director or chief administrator shall provide documentation of enrollment status . . . to any student fifteen years of age but less than eighteen years of age or older upon request who is properly enrolled . . .Whenever a student fifteen years of age but less than eighteen years of age withdraws from school, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the attendance director or chief administrator shall notify the division of motor vehicles of the withdrawal not later than five days from the withdrawal date. ?
Finally, West Virginia Code ?18-8-11(c) provides that:

?For the purposes of this section, withdrawal shall be defined as more than ten consecutive or fifteen days total unexcused absences during a school year. For the purposes of this section, suspension or expulsion from school or imprisonment in a jail or a penitentiary is not a circumstance beyond the control of such person.?

As a result of the foregoing as well as West Virginia Board of Education Policy 4110, the enrollment of the student is verified by the chief administrator or county attendance director based upon the enrollment status of the student at the time of the request. The status of the student is either ?enrolled? or ?withdrawn? and ?withdrawn?, for the purposes of driving privileges only, includes ten consecutive or fifteen days total unexcused absences. Therefore, only the current school year is examined for verification of the enrollment of the student.

Hoping that I have been of service, I am,

Sincerely,

/s/

David Stewart
Superintendent of Schools