(CNSNews.com) – The 2,702-page bipartisan infrastructure bill extends the federal government’s reach into driver education courses, requiring “instruction and testing” on traffic stops involving police.
Page 997 of the bill deals with grants to the states for “Driver Education and Driving Safety Courses.”
It says courses funded with federal grants and provided to individuals by state agencies must including “instruction and testing relating to law enforcement practices during traffic stops, including information related to” the following:
— the role of law enforcement and the duties and responsibilities of peace officers;
— the legal rights of individuals concerning interactions with peace officers;
— best practices for civilians and peace officers during those interactions;
— the consequences for failure of an individual or officer to comply with the law or program;
— how and where to file a complaint against, or a compliment relating to, a peace officer.
(Peace officers are defined as government employees who have the authority to carry firearms, make warrantless arrests and whose duties include the enforcement of criminal laws. They are police officers, in other words.)
This section of the bill also provides grants to states for “peace officer training programs,” including “instruction and testing materials…with respect to proper interaction with civilians during traffic stops.”
States may use the grants provided in this section for the production of educational materials; for training driver education staff; and for training peace officers on interactions with civilians.