Free driver's education in Milwaukee? Yes, for MPS students.

Devon Davis will be a junior at Rufus King High School this fall, but for now she's working at the Burger King on N. 124th St. and W. Capitol Drive.

The best part for Davis? The 16-year-old drives herself to and from work in her mom's 2000 Envoy, thanks to driver's education training she took last fall at King — for free.

"If you have a license, you can take care of your own business," Davis said.

The best part for the community? The training was part of a new district initiative to eliminate one of the biggest hurdles to post-high school success for many students: the lack of a driver's license.

"Short of prison, it's the biggest barrier to employment," said Lois Quinn, a retired senior scientist from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Employment & Training Institute.

Quinn and her husband John Pawasarat, also a retired researcher, have spent years studying equity issues. Their work has shown that a license is a better predictor of someone's ability to transition to a full-time job than even a high school diploma.

But most private driving schools charge $300 to $400 or more for training teens under 18 to get a license. For some, that's prohibitive.

The new public-private initiative, called MPS Drive, only requires eligible teens to pay $35 for their learner's permits.

Subsidies dried up

Adults in their 30s and older may remember taking free driver's education classes in high school. That's because state and federal grants helped subsidize the school-based training. Athletic coaches often got certified to teach the classes during the school day. Car dealers could get tax breaks by donating training cars to schools. 

Wisconsin discontinued state school aid for driver's education in 2004, which has created a gulf between students who can and cannot afford commercial driver's education classes.

Today, just 14% of 18-year-olds in Milwaukee's County's poorest neighborhoods have a driver's license, compared to 74% of 18-year-olds in the county's richest ZIP codes, according to a study last year from Quinn and Parasawat.

"That's why you see hardly any kids in 53206 with licenses, while kids in 53217 get them when they turn 16," said Quinn, comparing Milwaukee's north side to the upper-income residences from Whitefish Bay to Bayside. 

To license drivers under 18, Wisconsin requires 30 hours of scripted classroom instruction, six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction and six hours of in-car observation. Drivers also have to pass a written test and a road test at the DMV, and then they have to keep a clean driving record for nine months on a probationary license.

Funding the MPS initiative

Nichole Yunk Todd, the administrator of Milwaukee Youth Services for Wisconsin Community Services, was familiar with research from Quinn and Pawasarat. In 2014, she entered a local competition that sought projects to combat segregation. Her idea: Re-start free driver's education in MPS.

It won the Greater Together Challenge, and the grant award helped kick-start a driver's education collaborative. In the spring of 2016, funding from the district, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the United Way paid for driver's ed for 257 students at four city high schools.

The district also partnered with Wisconsin Community Services, a social service agency, to help restore driving privileges for students who have had them revoked.

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Starting last school year, about 1,400 students took the free training, including about 450 who are finishing up classes next week.

Driver's education will cost about $1 million for 2,400 students in 2017-'18. MPS is paying about $646,000. The city agreed to contribute an additional $50,000 annually. Outside funders will have to help cover the rest.

The goal is to make free driver's education universal in the district by 2020. The price tag for training an expected 6,000 eligible students each year: $2.3 million annually.

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As of last month, more than 130 students had finished their coursework and gained probationary licenses, according to the district. 

Even if MPS students taking driver's education don't get their licenses right away, supporters say it's important that they're exposed to rules for driving safely, because they might get their licenses later on.

Behind the wheel

On a recent Thursday, about 20 teenagers sat in car simulators in the driver's education classroom at Barack Obama School of Career and Technical Education, at 5075 N. Sherman Blvd. 

The teacher was Fred Taylor, from Arcade Drivers School. The students sign up for time slots each week to drive with him after they've passed their written tests and paid the $35 for their learner's permits.

By 3 p.m., Taylor had pulled his real, driving-school car to the curb and student Kenaya Tennione, 16, slid behind the wheel.

Tennione said she's looking forward to taking her road test after she's driven under the permit for the requisite six months. That might happen around her 17th birthday at the end of November.

"This gives you some type of independence," she said before buckling up. "I can go places and get jobs."

Students can sign up for the next round of driver's education classes in MPS starting at 10 a.m.  Aug. 1 through Milwaukee Recreation. Call (414) 647-6050 for more information.

Contact Erin Richards at erin.richards@jrn.com or (414) 224-2705 or @emrichards on Twitter.