In some states, like West Virginia for instance, grades have a lot to do with driving. In West Virginia, high schoolers who want a driver’s license need to have a 2.0 GPA or higher, passing grades, and good attendance. Absences are involved in this rule because the legislators feel that students who are not responsible for being to school on time aren’t responsible enough to drive.

This argument was started by a group of adults who wanted a new chance for young students to succeed in school and be responsible outside of school. When grades are involved with having your driving license, then it gets more students encouraged in getting good grades so they can drive and feel more freedom.

It isn’t just about grades and attendance. Behavior has an impact on getting and keeping a driver’s license, too. In the article Why Poor Grades in High School May Revoke Your Driver’s License, it says, “In West Virginia, students who commit a Level 4 offense, those which would constitute a felony if the student were an adult, also have their licenses taken away… It makes kids more accountable for their behavior as well as academics.”

According to a 2018 article shared by the National Conference of State Legislators (http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/teen-drivers-statutes-chart.aspx), restrictions like these affect 29 states and all of these laws have been passed in the last quarter of a century. In California, the Vehicle Code 13202.7 reads: Habitual truants shall have their license suspended or be delayed in obtaining a license.