School Policy/Guidelines

Conduct: Students are expected to arrive at class and return from breaks on time. There is a large amount of information which must be provided during classroom time.  We expect all students to respect one another. Bullying will not be tolerated. If a student displays this behavior or repeatedly causes interruptions in the class, he/she can be removed from the class, no refund will be provided.  

Cell Phones & Smart Watches: Students must turn off their phones during class or the instructor will pick them up at the end of the day.  Repeated disruptions, including texting or the use of Smart Watches to correspond with anyone or access social media can result in the student not being allowed to bring a cell phone or smart watch into class.

Attendance: Students are required to attend all class sessions to fulfill state requirements. This is 6 hours for an adult class and a 30-hour classroom session for teen students must be present for the full 30 hours. Any student who misses [tardy/no-show] classroom instruction will not be allowed to proceed until the missing session is completed.  For emergency purposes and approved absences, the student will be allowed to attend the following class to complete his/her missed session.  Failure to attend a scheduled class or make-up session will have the same results as a failed class with no refund. The Behind the Wheel portion of the course cannot proceed until the full 30 hours of classroom requirements have been met. 

Observers: Only registered students are allowed to attend classroom or driving sessions. Only person’s that we have cleared through a state background check can be permitted into the facility while class is in session unless we personally escort you in and straight to our business office to register or test someone. 

Grades: Students are required to pass an exam with a score of 80% or higher to complete the classroom session.  Behind the Wheel driving session requires that a student’s score 70% or higher to pass the Behind the Wheel Skills test.  The instructor has the right to extend this session if he feels that the student has not met the necessary standards. *** DMV Knowledge Test (K2D Test) is now given at GDS, LLC. Students must pass with 80% to receive credit for the classroom portion** 

Driving Time:  We will provide the parent/adult student with a tentative drive schedule as soon as we possibly can. Conflicts in the schedule will be worked out between the parents of the teen students and representatives from Guardian Driving School. Please note that we have a high volume of drive time to complete and rescheduling students could result in delays in the normal completion time for your child.

 Completion of Behind the Wheel training could take longer during peak times of the year and varies due to class size, summer classes & Holiday sessions. Adults: The State allows us only 3 months to complete BTW Portion. We will rotate the adults on a schedule to allow students reasonable periods between driving sessions.  Each student will be scheduled at our discretion depending on availability and skill but will usually be in 2-hour segments until the required 8 hours of Behind the Wheel Instruction is completed. Adults are required to meet at our location for their scheduled drives unless they negotiate Concierge service for an additional fee. 

Teens: The state allows us 4 months to complete this portion and the time starts from the date the student passes the Know 2 Drive electronic exam on the final day of class. We will rotate the students on a schedule to allow students reasonable periods between driving sessions.  Each student will be scheduled in 2-hour segments until the required 8 hours of Behind the Wheel Instruction is completed. Please understand that they need to be ready 30 min prior to their scheduled drive and may not be dropped back off right at the end of their driving time. We have students from a wide range of towns in the Acadiana area and travel time back to drop your child back off could take anywhere from 15 minutes to sometimes 45 minutes.  Please just clear their day for driving so there are no misunderstandings on pick up and drop off times. We make several stops throughout the day for restroom breaks and teach students to pump gas. We do also get delayed by construction on the roadway as well as the skill set of the driver, which, when learning, may not have mastered the ability to hold their speed so our normal 2-hour route doesn’t always turn out perfect. There must be some leeway since we are the only school that provides pick-up and drop-off services at no additional charge. 

*** 3rd Party Driving Skills Testing is now provided by GDS, LLC.  DMV no longer provides this service. All testing will be conducted by Guardian Driving School. There will be an extra charge for each student taking this test with us. Fees are currently $60 (Cash only paid at time of service) Adults will need to be prepared to pay their test fee at the start of their final drive and will be concluded at the end of their final drive. This will be required for teen students just prior to transitioning from a Learners Permit to a Driver’s License and is by APPOINTMENT ONLY. Please contact us 1 week prior to your child’s eligibility to plan to have this Skilled Driving Test completed. ***

Personal Property: Guardian Driving School is not responsible for lost or stolen property during classroom or driving sessions.

Payment: We only accept money orders, cashier checks, credit cards, debit cards or cash as methods of in person payment.  Please DO NOT make balance payments through your phone App. You have the option of using PayPal, Venmo or Cash App to make an initial deposit or full payment. The remaining balances would need additional fees to be calculated, and we do not have time in the morning for this. We do not recommend mailing cash.  We no longer accept personal checks.  Special arrangements can be made prior to the start of the class, for a payment plan which is to be paid in full by the first day of class.  Registration is not complete until the student registration form, picture of TIP Card and full class fees have been received. 

Refund Policy: With seats being limited, any cancellation prior to the start of class will no longer result in a refund. A deposit made of $175.00 (teen class) or $125.00 (adult class) and is non-refundable.  If a full class fee of $375.00 (teen) or $325.00 (adult) was paid in person or online, it can result in a partial refund of $200.00 unless the cancellation is less than 3 days prior to class then it will result in no-refund.  Emergency matters can result in a registered student being rescheduled for the next available class. Students may only be rolled over once to another upcoming class, after that the full fee is forfeited. Any portion of the class fee paid cannot be transferred to anyone else. In the event that student has completed the full classroom portion of the class along with completion of the K2D Test and decides to withdraw from the remaining portion of the course prior to beginning their behind the wheel portion will result in only a partial refund of $100.00 and the remaining portion will be applied to the balance owed to the school to cover a $100.00 cancellation fee. 

Additional Charges: There will be additional charges that could be incurred as per the following. On the final day of the teen classroom session or on the adult day of class the students will be allowed two attempts to successfully pass the approved DMV Knowledge Test which is an electronic version called Know 2 Drive. Any additional required testing will be rescheduled for a future date to return with an additional two attempts per session for retesting. The cost per additional testing session will be $40.00 cash only. It is at our discretion as to how many additional sessions we will allow. We will handle each situation on a personal basis and will suggest at some point if we feel the student should repeat the classroom session for a refresher course before proceeding at the additional charge of $175.00 for the teen portion or $125.00 for the adult portion.

Rescheduling Behind the Wheel sessions that have been coordinated and agreed upon for Adults will incur a $50.00 Cash Only fee/2-hour BTW Session or $100/4-hour BTW Session. Rescheduling Behind the Wheel sessions that have been coordinated and agreed upon with parents for Teens will incur a $20.00 Cash Only fee/2-hour session due upon the next scheduled drive with greater than a 24-hour notification. No-Show for a pick-up or a Cancellation with Less Than a 24-hour notice will incur a $50.00 Cash Only rescheduling fee/2-hour session instead which will be due upon the next scheduled drive. Failure to pay any rescheduling fees will result in the instructor withholding the release of the sealed completion packet to the Adult Student/Teen Students Parent until full payment has been received. 

Identification: All Teen students are required to present two forms of identification to complete the registration process for class. Original Birth Certificate and TIP Card provided by DMV must be presented on the first day of classAlong with a domicile birth parent with parents form of Identification as well. All Adult students must have a TIP Card to be allowed to take the K2D Test at the end of class day. 

Cancellation of Class: If for any reason Guardian Driving School cannot fulfill our obligation or close the business, we will refund the outstanding fees within 30 days. (For this section, not being able to fulfill our obligation means if our license is suspended or revoked) For inclement weather or catastrophic incidents which are beyond our control which cause school closures then we will resume classes at the next available opportunity we can provide to students.

Consent Form/Temporary Permit: A parent (domicile parent if divorced must be present and provide proof of domiciliary status by bringing court documentation) or legal guardian (with documentation) will have to sign their child’s temporary driver’s permit form prior to their child being able to participate in Behind the Wheel driving. You will also be required to provide a valid driver’s license at the time of registration. 

A student who is fifteen (15) years of age may enroll in and fully participate in the 38-hour class.  A student who is 90 days from attaining their 15th birthday may take the classroom only session but cannot participate in Behind the Wheel training until the student is fifteen (15) years of age.

Alternative Testing: We require all students to attempt testing on their own for the first 2 attempts on the final day of class. If there is a need for alternative testing and instruction for hearing, speech and learning disabilities, please discuss this concern directly with the instructor or a representative of Guardian Driving School.  All matters will remain private as we work to assist any adult/child with their needs.  We offer extended time to test students with learning needs.  We will provide one on one time for these needs. This will incur a retesting fee of $40 per session with 2 attempts per day and at our discretion as to how many attempts we can allow before discussing where to go from there. We are unable to provide answers or help them any way other than to provide headsets to have the test read to them or to enlarge font size on tablet. 

Certificate of Completion: To receive a certificate of completion, an adult student must complete the 6 hours of classroom and a teen student must complete 30 hours of classroom instruction and 8 hours of Behind the Wheel driving.  A grade of 80% or better is passing for the classroom instruction.  Behind the Wheel driving session requires that a student’s score 70% or higher to pass the Behind the Wheel Skills test.  If a driving instructor feels that a student requires additional Behind the Wheel training, the consenting parent will be contacted (Fees WILL apply for additional sessions) Once all areas of this course are met satisfactorily, the Certificate of Completion will be issued to the parents of the teen student/adult student once all required signatures are received.  Both students and parents are required to sign the Certificate of Completion before it can be issued. If the original certificates are lost, we will provide you with a stamped copy for a charge of $20 per copy.

Grievance Policy: If an adult student or a parent of a teen student has a grievance with any aspect of Guardian Driving School, we will work to resolve this grievance as quickly as possible.  All grievances should be directed at the owners (Ruby and Randal Bertrand).  Any grievance not resolved by Guardian Driving School may be forwarded to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections:

By Mail:       Office of Motor Vehicles

Attn: Training and Certification Unit

P.O. Box 64886

Baton Rouge, LA 70896

By Phone:    (225) 925-1795

By Email:     ladrivingschools@dps.la.gov

Guardian Driving School shall adhere to all applicable Federal, State and Local Laws and shall not engage in any form of unlawful discrimination or illegal activities.

The school, owners, and/or instructors shall not give the impression or by advertisement that a Driver’s Education Completion Certificate, Learners Permit or Driver’s License is assured or guaranteed to any student or individual taking this course.

Thank you for allowing our staff to teach your children.  You will receive a “Parental Information Email” as well as a “Parent Orientation PowerPoint” in a separate email. We will have you sign our “signature page” on the first morning of class to verify and confirm you were provided a copy and have reviewed the Parent Orientation, the School Policy/Guidelines and agree to this guideline as written.

Randal & Ruby Bertrand, Owners/Instructors

Guardian Driving School, LLC

(337)384-8109