Cars for Schools Program Update

The Bureau of Automotive Repair's (BAR) Cars for Schools (CFS) program repurposes vehicles retired through the Consumer Assistance Program to provide students in automotive technical training classes with hands-on learning opportunities. The program offers vehicles to public high schools, community colleges, and regional occupational programs throughout the state.

In January 2020, the first retired vehicle was transferred to the College of the Sequoias. Twelve additional schools received vehicles in February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced automotive training programs to halt in-person training. With in-person classes resuming, automotive technical training instructors are once again requesting CFS vehicles.

To assess the success of the program, Vehicle Retirement Technical Unit Supervisor Dan Breitbach reached out to automotive instructors who have participated in the program. Chris Lacey, an automotive instructor at Livingston High School, located in Livingston, California, obtained a 2004 Chevrolet Aveo, a 2007 Nissan Maxima, and a 1999 Cadillac Escalade in February 2020 after learning about the program through his local community college. Lacey affirmed that the vehicles are ideal for his training program and he is looking forward to acquiring more vehicles once Livingston High School reopens.

College of the Desert, located in Palm Desert, California, requested older vehicles and received a 1981 Dodge D150 pickup and a 1981 Dodge B150 van for its Smog Check technician training class. Automotive instructor Dorothy Anderson explained, "These older vehicles can be hard to obtain, but they are extremely useful in training students on how to diagnose older emissions control systems." Anderson said she is pleased with the program and plans on requesting more vehicles from CFS.

To learn more, visit the Cars for Schools Program page or contact the program coordinator at carsforschools@dca.ca.gov.


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