CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – Taking a test in the middle of summer may not be high on a teenager’s agenda, but for a group of Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) high school students, they made an exception for the learner’s permit exam.
CCPS applied for a grant in fall 2025 through the Maryland State Department of Education’s (MSDE) Driver’s Education in Public High Schools Grant Program. Karen Coles, community school coordinator at Thomas Stone High School, brought the program to the attention of CCPS Title I and Community Schools staff. CCPS is working with staff of the Maryland Department of Transportation to facilitate the program in Charles County.
The program aims to help students in select schools get on the road toward their driver’s license without financial and scheduling barriers.
“The grant places a strong emphasis on increasing access and equity for special student populations,” Arin Bonner, CCPS director of Title I and Community Schools, said.
This is the inaugural year of the grant, with students at Henry E. Lackey, Thomas Stone and Westlake high schools invited to participate.
Students and their families can work with a school staff member to start the enrollment process, which includes completing paperwork and registering to earn a driver’s permit and driver education classes. CCPS has partnered with the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) and Greenlight Driving School to help students get driver education classes.
Amanda Austin brought her niece Aminah Adams to the test, but it was Adams who brought the idea to Austin.
“She was the one who found out about it,” Austin said of the program. With the costs for private driving lessons and the time commitment they entail, the grant program was a welcome solution for Adams, who will be a senior in the upcoming school year.
“She’s always had drive; always been self-motivated,” Austin said, adding that getting a license fits her niece’s independent personality. “She has the support from me.”
According to a 2023 article in The Washington Post, the number of people 25 and younger with a driver’s license has decreased in the past 40 years. Only 25% of 16-year-olds in 2021 had a driver’s license compared to the 46% who did in 1983. In 2022, slightly older teens — 18-year-olds — made up 59% of licensed drivers, a sharp decrease from the 80% in the early 1980s, according to the Post, citing data from the Federal Highway Administration.
The driver’s education program was removed from CCPS in the late 1990s, shutting the door to important skills students must learn as they prepare to enter the “real world.”
“When we took driver’s ed out of public schools, it created inequities in allowing every single kid to learn how to drive,” Maria V. Navarro, Ed.D., superintendent of schools, told the group of students Friday before the test.
Students — most from Thomas Stone — came to the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building July 24 to take their learner’s permit test. If they passed, they could head to any Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) office to get their permit and start driving lessons. During the school year, eligible students can take the learner’s permit test after school or during an activity period.
“Learning to drive young is an important skill,” Navarro said to the students. “You will soon be independent. We are now looking at you as young adults, and soon we are kicking you out into the world. One of the most important skills to have as you move into adulthood is being able to drive.”
Cheryl Hammond, manager of the Charles County MVA office, agreed.
“This is the next step in life,” she said. “It gets you to a job, it gets you to college, it gets you to that next step. Young people have to understand that if they want to be a grownup they have to have grown up responsibilities.”
For students who passed the learner’s permit exam Friday, the next steps are visiting the MVA to receive their physical permit and getting in the driver’s seat. In Maryland, new drivers must complete at least 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction before taking the test to earn a provisional license.
Some of the students are more than ready.
“I need to get my license,” Jaylen Tolliver, an incoming junior at Thomas Stone, said. “I need to get from Point A to Point B. I want to get a job and I need to be able to drive to get one.”
Aidyn Newman, an incoming senior in the Virtual Academy, understands that driving is an important skill to have.
“Driving is something I knew I would need to learn,” she said. “This seemed like a way to start.”
To learn more about getting a Maryland driver’s license, visit https://mva.maryland.gov/your-mva-guide/teens-new-drivers.